Childhood
by GollyGeeWhiz
Summary: Friends from the cradle. Inseparable throughout elementary school. Sworn enemies through middle school. But when high school comes around, will Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase take the opportunity to fix their botched friendship… and turn it into something more? Percabeth. (AU/AH) Complete!
1. New Beginnings

**PART ONE : YOUTH  
**

 _Annabeth Chase, July 12_ _th_ read the label.

The tiny baby inside the hospital cot could have been called beautiful. She was small, round and pink. Her little fists flailed in the air, clasping and unclasping as they reached for nothing in particular. Her head bobbed slightly, bouncing the tiny curls that grew there. But she looked like a normal baby. The only difference between her and the other newborns around were her eyes. From the first time her eyes opened, she did not cry. She simply surveyed the world that whirled around her. Her parents marveled at her big round eyes.

"Such a beautiful color," crooned her father. "So grey, like the sea on a stormy day," he glanced over at his wife. "Just like yours."

She smiled at him, and glanced back down at her tiny baby. "Her eyes hold the wisdom of a hundred men. Look! She isn't just seeing, she is _observing_. It seems so silly, but I really think that she can _understand_ the world around her."

The baby's father nodded in agreement. "She's going be a genius. I can tell already."

The couple stared lovingly through the glass at their tiny miracle, arm in arm.

Inside the cot, the tiny baby's hands clenched and unclenched, as her big grey eyes observed the world. Soft, wispy blond curls crowned her little head, bobbing slightly as she turned. She didn't understand why she had been so suddenly pulled from her warm wet bed, and placed in this cold, cruel world. But she didn't cry, she simply observed. This was her life now.

 _Annabeth Chase_.

* * *

"I'm in labor," the woman calmly told the assistant at the front desk.

She was immediately rushed into an examination room, where she was soon whisked away to a maternity room in a hospital gown that was far too big. Her husband followed, unsure if he should be delighted or terrified.

He held her hand through the hours, whispering words of reassurance as the contractions wracked her body. Soon the tearful young parents were holding their new baby in their arms.

"He's beautiful," the new mother whispered in wonder, stroking the screaming baby's tiny face.

"He looks like a prune," said his father in a joking tone.

"A very beautiful prune!" he added hurriedly at the murderous look on his wife's face.

She laughed, punching him lightly on the arm. "Shut up!"

He laughed along with her for a moment, but quickly glanced back at the baby in his arms. "He really is beautiful, though."

His wife scoffed disbelievingly.

"I'm serious!" he said. "Look at that hair! Jet black. And so perfectly messy."

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure that'll give me trouble when he gets older. What should we name him?"

His father frowned in concentration. "How about… Perseus?"

"Perseus?" asked his mother incredulously.

His father blushed, but held his ground. "Yes, Perseus! Like in Greek mythology. We could call him Percy for short."

"Percy Jackson," marveled his mother. "I like it. It fits."

"Percy Jackson, August 17th," noted the nurse whose existence had been forgotten by the happy couple. She checked her watch and smiled tiredly. "Make that August _18_ _th_."

The tiny baby chose this moment to open his eyes, revealing bright, curious, sea green irises. His parents gasped, marveling at their baby's bright eyes as they scanned the world around them with amazement.

"Beautiful," whispered his mother in wonder. "Percy Jackson, welcome to the world."

* * *

 **A/N: Cheers to beautiful prunes! So, if you're wondering, for the first probably 5-10ish chapters, this will be little moments as Percy and Annabeth grow up. Mostly fluffy, but also dramatic. Then the plot will pick up. I already have a few chapters of this ready. And if you're not sure: This story is ALL HUMAN. Nobody is a god/demigod. Please review/follow/favourite!**


	2. Green Meets Grey

"Percy! Percy!" the panicked mother called, pushing her way through the people at the playground to find her son. She paused for a second, bringing a hand to her head. It was her baby's very first time to the playground, and she had already managed to lose him.

She finally spotted him in the sandbox, dumping fistfuls of sand on the head of a tiny girl. She rushed over.

"Percy!" she laughed in relief, scooping the tiny boy up into her arms and cuddling him close.

It was then that he noticed the curious gaze of the mother beside her, and she blushed. The little girl in the sandbox stared too, her grey eyes round and her soft, pink lips forming a small 'o'.

"I'm so sorry!" the mother of the little boy laughed. "I swear, since the second he learned to crawl he hasn't stopped."

The grey-eyed baby in the sandbox chose this moment to burst into tears, reaching her small, chubby arms out to grasp something that wasn't there.

"Oh!" crooned her mother, pulling the baby into her arms. But the baby only squirmed, crying harder, reaching towards the new friend she had made in the sandbox.

Her mother laughed. "Looks like she wants her new friend back!"

The two mothers laughed as they carefully placed the chubby babies back in the sandbox. The little girl squealed in glee, and the little boy grabbed another fistful of sand that he instantly stuck into his mouth.

The girl's mother looked at the boy's. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Sally. Sally Jackson. And the little sand eater is Percy."

The other mother laughed. "I'm Athena Chase. The little curly-top is Annabeth."

They shook hands, and then glanced back down at the babies, examining them both. Annabeth was just a little bit smaller than Percy. She had a mop of curly blond hair covering her soft, round head, and piercing grey eyes. Percy's straight head of hair was messy and jet-black, and his little sea-green eyes gazed almost lovingly at his new friend.

"How old is he?" asked Athena.

"Six months."

"Oh really? Annabeth here is just about eight months. Very close in age!"

Sally nodded. "Just look at them! They're best friends already!"

Percy scooped up yet another handful of sand. He poured it into his new friend's hands as she watched in amazement. Annabeth carefully poked the sand. Then she grabbed a small handful of it, and experimentally threw it into Percy's face. She giggled adorably while Percy tried to blink it out of his eyes, coughing it out of his tiny mouth.

The two mothers stood tensely at hand, expecting Percy to cry, but he didn't. Instead, he grabbed his own handful of sand, and launched it into Annabeth's face. He chortled happily as she stared at him in shock. Then she grabbed another handful of sand…

The burbling laughter of babies could be heard across the playground as the two big-eyed babies transformed the sandbox into a sandstorm.

Finally, the mothers ended it, pulling the two sand-sodden babies from the sandstorm they were creating. The babies blinked at each other in surprise. Green eyes met grey, and both babies simultaneously burst into tears. This time however, their mothers did not relent and put them back into the sandbox.

"Swings?" Sally asked.

Athena nodded, and they headed over to the swing set. Percy and Annabeth immediately stopped crying as the swings gently rocked them back and forth.

"We should exchange contact information," said Athena. "The babies certainly seem to enjoy each-other's company."

Sally nodded, and phone numbers were exchanged. Both mothers pulled the now sleeping babies from the swing set, and set off on their ways.

Sally cuddled the sleeping baby in her arms. "Well, Percy, it seems like you've got a best friend."

Little did she know how right she was.

* * *

 **A/N: OMG, you guys are awesome. I was not expecting such a great** **response to my first chapter** — **so many follows and favourites. Could use a few more reviews, though...**

 **I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I swear they'll get longer in the future. It's hard to write much about the doings of babies. Speaking of which, I have some more baby Percabeth scenes to write, but I'm not sure what I should do. Any suggestions? What would you like to see your favourite couple doing as babies next?**


	3. Sandcastles Fall

"Annabeth!" sighed her father, pulling his book out of her chubby hands once more. "Can't you find something else to play with? I'm trying to read that."

The baby simply reached over and tore the book from her father's hands, and attempted to stuff it in her mouth. "No."

Her father sighed again, his hand closing over a handful of the soft sand. He held it up for Annabeth to inspect.

"Look! Look at the sand! Don't you like sand?"

Annabeth leaned forward, her mouth forming a perfect little 'o'. Then she shook her head and went back to eating her father's book. He gave up.

Annabeth and Frederick were spending the day at the beach. Athena had all but shoved them out of the house that morning, saying that she needed some alone time to prepare for Annabeth's 2nd birthday, which happened to be in two days. Frederick decided to bring Annabeth to the beach, but the almost-two-year-old seemed completely uninterested in anything that actually had to do with the beach. She kept picking up random objects; rocks, shells, books; and putting them in her mouth. Frederick had dragged her away from a nearby lady's shoe, apologizing profusely. The lady thought Annabeth was charming anyways.

Annabeth's latest interest was Frederick's book. Her father thought maybe she had a taste for knowledge.

Earlier, Frederick had tried to take her into the water, but had given up after she spent the whole time kicking and screaming. Despite the fact that he had been a father for two years, Frederick still felt like he had no idea how to take care of a child.

Suddenly, Frederick heard a scream. Glancing around, he realized Annabeth was gone. A slightly soggy book sat beside him, and his two-year-old was nowhere to be seen. She had an instant he was scrambling to his feet, looking around desperately for Annabeth.

After a few seconds he spotted her. While he had been so deep in thought, Annabeth had wandered off, and she was now 15 feet into the water, flailing around desperately. But before Frederick had even reached the water, a tall man in a lifeguard's vest scooped a dripping Annabeth out of the water.

Frederick froze. The man was holding Annabeth up above his head, and she was giggling. Actually giggling. Annabeth wasn't the friendliest baby. And usually when strangers held her, she screamed.

A second later, the man's words reached Frederick.

"Well, hello Annabeth! What were you doing in the water?"

Frederick let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He recognized the man now; it was Poseidon Jackson, the father of Annabeth's best friend Percy.

A second later Poseidon had spotted him, and was wading through the water towards him.

"Careful!" he said, setting a sopping Annabeth before her father. "I don't you want to let her get away from life so easily." But when he looked up at Frederick he was smiling.

"Frederick! How's it going? Long-time no see."

"Alright. And I trust that you and Sally and Percy are well?" asked Frederick, pulling his drenched daughter into his arms as he spoke.

"Yup, your family too?"

"We are. I see you have a job as a lifeguard?"

Poseidon blushed slightly, a hand going to the back of his head self-consciously. "Yes, well, the company I was working off had to lay some people off and the beach seemed like a good place to work for the summer and…"

It wasn't exactly a secret that the Chases were much better off than the Jacksons. But Frederick didn't really care. He didn't think money defined you.

"Seems like a good job to me. You're saving the little babies who have gotten away from their daddies."

Poseidon grinned.

At that moment Frederick felt a slight tugging sensation on the bottom of his shorts. He looked down to see a tiny raven-haired boy tugging solemnly on his pant leg, staring up at him with big, innocent, sea-green eyes.

"Mister Fee-dick! Hi."

Frederick grinned. "Why hello Percy! And how are you enjoying the beach?"

"It good!" Percy said, nodding his head up and down enthusiastically.

"That's good!"

"Percy!" Annabeth cried from Frederick's arms, reaching her little chubby hands towards her friend.

"Hi Annie!"

Frederick set her down, and she bounced over to Percy. The two toddlers hugged clumsily.

"Percy good?" Annabeth asked, grinning widely."

"Uh-huh, Annie good too?"

"Yup. I falled in the water!" Annabeth pronounced proudly.

Frederick rubbed her head, laughing faintly. "Annabeth, sweetie, that's not a good thing."

"Why?"

"Because you could have drowned!"

"Oh," Annabeth turned back to Percy. "I almost drown-ded!"

Frederick groaned as Poseidon laughed.

"I swim," volunteered Percy.

"Reawy?"

"Uh-huh. Wanna see?"

"No."

Frederick laughed. "That's Annabeth's favorite word right now. Percy, I'm sure she'd love to see you swim."

"No," said Percy.

Frederick straightened up. "Percy too?"

Poseidon laughed. "Of course."

The toddlers had already forgotten about their previous conversation, and were now babbling about something else.

"Annie wanna build a sand cat-tle?"

"Okay. I good at building."

Percy and Annabeth wasted no time in plopping down in the sand and grabbing their buckets. Soon enough, a small village of sandcastle was sitting happily on the beach. Percy's sandcastles were really just lumps of sand, but Frederick and Poseidon said they were beautiful. Annabeth's really were beautiful; as sand castles went.

"Looks like you've got a budding architect here, Frederick!" said Poseidon, gently patting Annabeth's curls.

Annabeth looked up, curiosity filling her round, grey eyes. "What an arc-ee-tec?"

Her father knelt down, helping her fill another bucket with the sand. "It's someone who designs buildings."

Annabeth beamed. " _I_ an arc-ee-tec?"

"If you want to be, baby."

"Want to!" confirmed Annabeth.

They were interrupted by a large wail from Percy. The tide had come in, and their beautiful sandcastles were being washed away. Annabeth looked over, and her big eyes filled with tears, her lower lip trembling.

"Arc-ee-tec gone!"

Her father rushed to comfort her. "No, no Annabeth! You can still be an architect. When you want to be something, you have to work hard it. Sometimes, your sandcastles will be washed away, and that's okay. You just have to build them back up."

Annabeth sniffled. "Arc-ee-tec gone?"

"No, baby, never."

Percy suddenly brought his little fist down on one of Annabeth's still-intact creations. He laughed, a tiny, toothy grin spreading across his chubby features. Annabeth's little brow furrowed adorably in anger. A moment later, a big wet glob of sand hit Percy in the face, effectively shutting him up.

Frederick picked Annabeth up, pulling her to his chest. "Time to go?"

Poseidon checked his watch, nodding. "Yeah, my shift ended a couple minutes ago. Besides, it's getting dark."

So the four of them left the beach, leaving it for another day.

The sun set below the horizon, spreading magnificent hues of orange, pink, red, blue and purple across the beach. The sandcastles were washed away by the waves, worn down until they were no longer visible. They were trampled by bare, happy feet splashing through the shallows, until there was no sign that they had ever been there.

But that was okay. Because sometimes, your sandcastles get washed away. And you just have to build them back up.

* * *

 **A/N: *sigh* metaphors. Don't you just love 'em? And a longer chapter today, yay! Oh my gods, I love writing about baby Percy and Annabeth. They're just so freaking cute. On that note, I would still like some more ideas for things that our favourite babies should do. I think from now on I'm going to try to update** **Monday/Fridays, but don't count on it. Until next time! :)**


	4. Arachnophobia

"Lions and ti-gas and bears, oh my! Lions and ti-gas and bears, oh my!"

Percy and Annabeth marched along, arm in arm, perfectly oblivious to their parents behind them who could barely contain their laughter. It was a sunny Saturday morning, and the Chases and the Jacksons had decided to take a trip to the zoo. They had been trying to plan an outing for months, and their schedules had finally agreed to meet up. Percy and Annabeth were clearly delighted.

"Momma!" cried Percy, suddenly stopping. "Can we go see the ellie-phants?"

Sally bit her lip hesitantly. "We were going to eat lunch now, sweetie. Maybe we could go and see the elephants after…"

"No!" Percy pouted, Annabeth following suit. "Want to see them now."

Poseidon laughed, ruffling his son's hair. "You three go eat lunch, and I'll take the little tykes to see the elephants."

The other three adults looked at him quizzically. "You sure?"

"Of course!" said Poseidon cheerfully. "Go on, we'll catch up later."

The other three left somewhat reluctantly to get lunch, and, taking each child by the hand, Poseidon started leading them towards the elephant cage. The elephants, however, turned out to be too big and smelly for Percy and Annabeth, and Poseidon found himself being dragged across the zoo to see all sorts of different animals. Not that he minded.

Eventually, he convinced the kids to go to lunch, and they caught up with the rest of their families.

"Where do you want to go next?" asked Athena, once everyone was finished eating.

"It's up to the kids," said Sally, wiping her mouth daintily.

"We go see _snakes?_ " asked Percy, bouncing up and down.

Poseidon offered his hand to Percy once more. "Sure buddy. The reptile house is a great place to go!"

"Reptilies!" bounced Annabeth.

The reptile house was a very neat place. It had snakes big enough to strangle you with one squeeze, and tiny frogs that bounced off the walls of their sanctuary. But there were some non-reptiles too; large hairy spiders the size of your palm that crawled along the bottom of their small enclosure lazily. Frederick and Annabeth seemed particularly interested in the spiders.

" _Big_ 'pider," commented Annabeth, her eyes wide.

"Very big," agreed Frederick. "Would you like to come see, Athena?"

His wife shuddered. "Nooo, thank you."

Frederick shrugged. "Suit yourself."

They spent quite a while in the reptile house. The thing that intrigued them the most, though, was that you could hold some of the reptiles. If you were careful, and followed the instructions of the workers at the zoo, it was perfectly safe. After an adorable photoshoot of Percy and a snake, Frederick pushed Annabeth to go hold one of the reptiles, too.

"How about you hold that big spider, Annabeth? You know, the one that you were so interested in?"

"No," said Annabeth flatly. "Don't want to."

"Aw, c'mon sweetie, it'll be _fun_!" prompted Frederick.

Annabeth hesitated, her small eyebrows screwed up in thought. Frederick took that as a yes. A moment later, Annabeth found herself being pushed into a chair, while a man brought the big, hairy spider towards her. She was shaking visibly.

"No 'pider! No 'pider!" Annabeth cringed away from the spider.

"It's okay, honey, it won't hurt you," reassured Frederick, as the man place the spider on his small daughter.

Annabeth stared at the spider. It waved its long pincers around as it crawled lazily up Annabeth's arm. She sat frozen, unable to move. Her breaths were coming in short, quick gasps. She gulped a couple times as the spider seemed to swim before her, doubling, spinning, fading…

Annabeth swayed on her chair. The assistant who had placed the spider on her arm lunged forwards, snatching the spider from her just before she toppled to the floor in a dead faint. Her parents both lurched forward with a gasp.

"Annie?" Percy peeked out from behind his mother's legs. He approached cautiously. "Why Annie on the ground?" he asked, puzzled.

Athena didn't answer right away, as she pulled Annabeth onto her lap.

As she felt her daughter's forehead and heartbeat, she spoke. "I think she fainted, dear."

At that moment, Annabeth eyes fluttered open, her long, blond eyelashes flitting. For a moment, she simply looked confused. Then her big, gray eyes widened with alarm.

"'Pider?!"

Her mother rubbed her arm soothingly. "No, sweetie the spider is gone."

Annabeth seemed to relax a bit.

Athena turned angrily on her husband. "Look what you've done to her. Why did you force her to hold that spider?"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that she would react that way?!"

"She was _shaking_!"

"Then why didn't _you_ stop them from putting the spider on her?"

"Oh, now it's _my_ fault!"

Sally stepped forwards, putting a reassuring arm on each of their shoulders. "Guys! There's no use arguing. Annabeth is fine. No harm done."

But Annabeth clearly wasn't fine. She was hunched in a small ball on the floor, shivering, as Percy stood beside her, patting her head awkwardly.

Annabeth's parents were finally silent as they stared pitifully at Annabeth. Hearing the silence, a small, white face looked up.

"Why I fall?" she asked.

Her mother leaned down gently. "You fainted, sweetie. You got scared by the spider. You must have arachnophobia."

Annabeth paled slightly at the word 'spider', but leaned in with curiosity at 'arachnophobia'. "A-wack...a-wack…what?"

"Phobia means _fear of_. Arachno is spider."

Seeing Annabeth's confused look, she hastily added, "It means you're scared of spiders."

Annabeth nodded. "'Piders scary."

"C'mon, Annie! We go look at croc-diles!" exclaimed Percy, holding out a chubby hand.

Annabeth grabbed Percy's hand, and the two toddled off to look at the crocodiles. Annabeth's parents gazed anxiously after her.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" asked Athena.

"She should be okay…" said Frederick.

Athena glanced back up at him, her eyes a bit hurt. "I really don't know why you did that. I think you've traumatized her for life."

Frederick laughed uncertainly. "Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine… She won't even remember this tomorrow.

But Annabeth didn't forget the next day. When a scream brought her parents rushing into the room, Annabeth was standing by the wall, looking utterly terrified. The culprit—the teeniest spider imaginable.

Annabeth never really got over it. She learned to handle it, but from that day on, she was a victim of the severest arachnophobia.

* * *

 **A/N: Arachnophobia... arachnophobia... for some reason that word is really fun to say. Demigod Annabeth has a good reason to be scared of spiders (daughter of Athena?), but mortal Annabeth doesn't really. So I made a reason up. A very irresponsible father. Anyways, if you're getting bored of the plotless baby Percabeth chapters, next time is where the plot/drama is gonna start... I'm soo excited! Until next time!**


	5. You and Me

_He paused, clutching at his chest. He had been feeling a bit off for most of the day. He was vaguely aware that something may have been wrong, but didn't tell anyone, passing it off as a virus or something of the sort. Now he knew that was a mistake._

 _His chest felt as though something was squeezing it, aching and burning. He gasped for breath as he stumbled across the room. '_ Call 911!' _he wanted to call, but the light-headedness he was feeling kept him from speaking. He collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping and wheezing. He fell to the floor, struggling for breath, wishing he could scream from the pain in his chest. Wishing someone would come to his aid._

 _And all at once he knew. This was the end. But... Sally. And Percy! He couldn't just leave them._

 _Though he fought it, the blackness edged into his eyes, extinguishing the world around him. Then it all went black._

* * *

A scream interrupted the calm, quiet morning. Sally Jackson stood in the living room of her little apartment, her hands raking through her hair as she stared desperately at the sight in front of her. She dropped to her knees beside her husband, willing his sea-green eyes to open for her. Her head dropped to his chest, expecting to hear the strong, steady heartbeat that had comforted her through the hardest of times. But now she heard only silence.

"Poseidon! _Poseidon!_ " she cried, shaking him the way you should never shake an injured person.

She was interrupted by the pitter-patter of small feet, and Percy ran into the room, clutching at a small blue blanket he liked to sleep with. She turned to see his scared eyes, wide at the scene in front of him.

"Momma? What wrong with daddy? I scared."

Sally closed her eyes, whishing that when she opened them, all would be okay. Finally, she opened them again. In voice of forced calm, she said. "Percy, please bring me the phone."

"But Momma—"

"JUST GO GET ME THE PHONE!" Sally screamed is desperation.

Percy's lower lip quivered. His mother was screaming. She rarely raised her voice. She had taught Percy that yelling was not the answer to anything. And now she was yelling at him. Something was very, very wrong. Percy scampered out of the room, his blanket clutched close to his chest. He managed to climb onto a chair to get the phone, and he rushed it back to Sally, who grabbed it hurriedly.

Shakily, she dialed _911_.

 _"_ _911, what's your emergency?"_ a pretty female voice answered.

"Hello, I just found my husband unresponsive and unconscious. He isn't breathing."

 _"_ _Okay, we'll send an ambulance immediately. What's your address?"_

Sally told it to the lady as calmly as she could muster. As she waited for it to arrive, the lady on the other end gave her instructions on CPR. But Sally had a dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't working. He had been unconscious for too long.

Soon she heard the sirens in the distance. Percy whimpered in the corner. He was terrified. His big, strong daddy was lying on the floor without moving. His calm, loving mother had yelled at him. He began to cry quietly, waiting for his mommy to come and comfort him, but she never did. The sirens grew louder, finally coming to a stop in front of the apartment complex the Jacksons lived in.

Percy sank into his corner, hugging his blue blanket tightly. People were shouting, and Percy watched his mommy explain what had happened as some men loaded his daddy onto a long white thing that they carried him off on.

Percy's mother grabbed him by the hand, and his blanket fell to the floor, forgotten. They got into a strange car that his mommy called an ambulance, and drove off very fast, siren blaring. Percy watched in terrified fascination as the men tried to revive his dad. He sat in his mother's lap as she held him close, trying to keep him from any harm.

When they arrived at the hospital, Poseidon was wheeled into the ICU, and Sally watched in terror as they hooked him up to all sorts of machines, as doctors ran in and out. The hours inched by.

Late that night, Percy lay fast asleep in a chair, his small thumb dangling from his mouth. Sally sat unmoving, waiting for the verdict that could ultimately change her life. Finally a doctor came in.

"Ms.… I'm sorry. We couldn't save him."

He was saying something more, but Sally couldn't hear him over the buzzing in her ears. She shook her head, and managed to listen for another moment.

"It appears that your husband had a massive heart attack. Despite all our efforts, we couldn't get his heart going again. I'm very sorry."

She thanked the doctor hollowly, and scooped Percy up from his chair and left.

Soon there would be paperwork to do, insurance to claim. But for now, Sally was wholly wrapped in her grief. She didn't cry, though. She was still in shock. How could her Poseidon be dead?

When they arrived back at the apartment, Sally couldn't help but look around. How could a place that had been so full of light and happiness this morning be so dark and sullen now? But it wasn't the place that had changed. It was Sally herself.

She put Percy in his bed without bothering to change him, and lay down in her own bed. But she didn't sleep that night.

* * *

"Momma?"

Sally looked over at the little boy standing in the doorway. He rubbed his eyes with one hand, the other clutched onto the arm of his blanket. He was still in the crumpled clothes of the day before, his hair ruffled and unruly.

He looked at her with big eyes. "Where daddy? What happen?"

Sally smiled just a little bit. She pulled Percy into her arms and sat down with him on a chair.

"Your daddy's not here anymore, Percy. He's gone to a better place. He'll be happier there."

Percy looked up at her with sad eyes. "When's he coming back?"

"He's not coming back, sweetie. He's gonna stay there."

"Can we go too?"

"No dear, we have to stay. We can't join him just yet. Not for a long time. It's just you and me now."

Percy began to sob, and Sally pulled him closer, letting the little boy sob into her chest. The tears began to run down her face too, as the reality began to sink in. She would never run her hands through Poseidon's soft hair again. She would never again hear his comforting heartbeat, steady and strong. She would never hear his laughter or see him smile. She would never see the sparkle in his sea-green eyes again.

But then again, there they were in front of her, devastated and filled with tears. Sea-green eyes that sparkled in just the same way. In the face of the little boy in front of her was the only living remnant of her husband.

 _It's just you and me now._

* * *

 **A/N: Um yeah, so... that happened... I'm sorry...but it had to happen...**

 **Please, please, please _review_ and follow and favourite. It makes me more unbelievably happy than you could believe. It also inspires me to write more. :)**


	6. Written in the Stars

Percy and Annabeth lay side by side in the soft grass, staring up at the starry sky. Both had their hands tucked behind their heads, making a pillow. Sally had decided to go camping with Percy, and of course Percy had begged to bring Annabeth along.

Sally was already fast asleep in the tent, but Percy and Annabeth had snuck out to stargaze. Without the city lights dulling them, there were millions of stars stretched across the sky. Annabeth pointed out constellations, while Percy watched sleepily.

"There's Orion, and Hercules… oh and that one is Pegasus. And look, Percy! It's Perseus! You were named after him! And there's Ursa Major, that part of it is the big dipper…"

Percy smiled. "We need a star! One that's just our own!"

Annabeth nodded, and the two scanned the sky in silence to find a star to call their own.

Finally, Annabeth found it. "How 'bout that one? See it? The big bright one? Whenever we see that star, we think of each other!"

Percy nodded. "It'll be _our_ star."

After a pause, Annabeth said, "Did you know that some of those stars are already dead? They're so far away, kagillions of miles, that their light is still coming to us, even though they're dead!"

Percy frowned. "I don't get it."

Annabeth didn't bother explaining any further. She knew Percy wouldn't understand. But after a moment, Percy spoke again.

"Do you think there's a God, Annie?"

Annabeth was silent for a moment. "I dunno, Percy. I don't think that one _God_ could rule this whole world… there's just too much of it. He would get o-ver-whelmed."

"Over what?"

"Also the one 'God' is a guy. I think gods should be girls, too. I've always liked the Greek gods, actually. They're more interesting. Some of them are girls, and there's one for everything. And look… their stories are written in the stars! Hercules, Perseus, Orion… it's all there. Maybe the Greek gods are the ones we should worship."

Silence. Then, "You're pretty smart, Annie."

Annabeth giggled. "What if the Greek gods really did exist like in myths? Maybe we would be demigods, like Hercules or Perseus."

Percy grinned at the idea. He and Annabeth had (tried to) read Greek Mythology together, and they both loved it. "I bet your mommy would be Athena, 'cause you're so smart!"

Annabeth blushed; glad it wasn't visible in the dark. "And your daddy would be Poseidon, of course, because I think your head is waterlogged."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"Maybe our parents really _are_ Greek gods!" Percy was beginning to get excited. "Maybe we are demigods, and we will have lots of adventures, and…"

"Percy…" Annabeth interrupted quietly. "No matter what their names are, our parents aren't Greek gods. Your daddy is dead. My mommy left us years ago."

Annabeth paused with a sigh. It was still a sore subject for her. When she had been only four years old, not long after Percy's father had died, Athena had up and left them. Annabeth and her father had been heartbroken, but it hadn't lasted long for Frederick, apparently. He had re-married to a woman named Helen a few years ago, and Annabeth didn't like her much.

Annabeth sighed again, and resumed her sentence. "If they were gods, they wouldn't do that. They _couldn't_ do that."

Percy sighed sadly, and when he spoke his voice was choked with tears. "You sure know how to ruin a guy's dreams, Annie."

"Sorry," said Annabeth quietly. She scooted over until she was right beside Percy, and he wrapped his arm around her. She rested her little head on his chest, and soon they both fell asleep underneath the stars.

Sally found them like that in the morning, a few feet away from the tent, curled up fast asleep in each other's arms. It made her smile.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello people. Short chapter today, sorry. But this is the last kind of fluffy chapter before the plot really starts.**

 **So... apparently you were all too shocked to review last time. But this _is_ marked Romance/Drama. But now that you're over your shock... review? please? **

**One more thing - I think I'm going to try and update just Mondays here on out. Happy Thanksgiving to any of my fellow Canadians!**


	7. Whispers to the Wind

Sally weaved her way through the crowd, huffing irritably. Percy was over at Annabeth's, and Sally was out doing their Christmas shopping. Even though it was still several weeks until Christmas, the mall was crowded, and it seemed very easy to get trampled. Spinning around, Sally bumped into someone, lost her balance, and, dropping all of her bags, fell to the ground.

"Oh dear. I am so sorry."

Sally looked up. There was a man standing over her, smiling. He certainly wasn't the most handsome of men. He looked a few years older than Sally, and also like he could use some exercise. He was slightly balding, and looked like he needed to shave. But he was smiling so kindly that Sally couldn't help but like him right away.

"That's alright," said Sally, struggling to her feet.

"Here—" the man held out his hand.

Sally took it gratefully, and he pulled her to her feet. She began to pick up her shopping bags, but the man held out his hand once more.

"Let me help you carry those."

Sally stared into the man's eyes. Though he wasn't handsome, his eyes were beautiful and kind. She smiled, handing him a few of her many bags. "Thank you."

"Of course. Quite the load you've got here. Christmas shopping?"

Sally nodded. "A lot of people expect presents from me. My son, my parents, my friends…"

"And your husband?"

Sally smiled sadly. "Dead."

"Oh," said the man. "I'm so sorry."

Sally nodded. She couldn't say _it's alright_ , because it wasn't alright. An apology from a stranger made nothing about death alright.

The man walked her through the mall, and they chatted. He was a very kind-hearted man, divorced from a bad marriage, currently living on his own. He was quite charming, and Sally found herself liking him more and more.

"Look," she said, pulling a small piece of paper and a pen from her purse. "Here's my number. Why don't you call me? I would love to meet up again sometime."

The man smiled, taking the small slip of paper. "Sounds wonderful."

He shook her hand. "It was wonderful meeting you."

She turned away.

"Wait!" he called.

Sally looked back over her shoulder.

"You never told me your name!" smiled the man.

"Sally Jackson. And you?"

"I'm Gabe. Gabe Ugliano."

* * *

"Percy!"

Percy's raven-haired head appeared at the door to his room. "What?"

"Honey, do you mind if a friend comes over for supper?" Sally asked, as she stirred her cookie batter vigorously.

Percy looked curious. "What friend?"

"You don't know him, sweetie. A nice man I met at the mall. His name is Gabe."

Percy's mouth opened in a small 'o'. "Was he the man that you spent four hours talking to last night?"

Sally blushed slightly, turning away. "It was _not_ four hours."

"Sure felt like four hours," grumbled Percy. "I wanted to call Annabeth."

Sally laughed. "Well, the phone is all yours now. So you don't mind if Gabe comes over for supper tomorrow."

"Nuh-uh. As long as you cook something good.

Sally grinned. "Got it. Will do."

* * *

Gabe came over for dinner the next night. Sally felt very nervous, and had forced an irritated Percy to wash his face several times. Now she was dressed in what she thought was pretty but not too fancy. Or too casual.

Sally had the misfortune to be on the phone when Gabe arrived. The doorbell rang.

"Oh! Ella, I'm really sorry, but I've got to go. My guest just—PERCY! TAKE THOSE CHOPSTICKS OUT OF YOUR NOSE! —Sorry Ella, you know how kids are. —PERCY, CAN YOU PLEASE ANSWER THE DOOR? —Yes, I've really got to run. I'll call you back later? Alright. Goodbye."

She put down the phone to the sound of Percy swinging open the heavy door. She came round the corner to see Percy looking up at Gabe.

"Hi, Mr. Ugly!" he said with a winning smile meant to please.

" _Percy_!" Sally felt herself blushing slightly. "It's Mr. _Ugliano_. Not Mr. Ugly."

"Oops!" Percy covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes twinkling. "Sorry."

Gabe laughed heartily. "That's quite alright."

Looking slightly flustered, Sally invited Gabe inside. Percy watched as he critically analyzed the apartment. Sally didn't notice.

A couple seconds later, Gabe followed Sally into the kitchen. They chatted as Sally cooked, laughing happily. Percy watched them from the inside of the kitchen doors. He wasn't sure what he thought of Gabe yet. He wasn't nearly as handsome as Poseidon had been, tall with his inky black hair and sea-green eyes. Instead, Gabe was a short, heavyset man with stringy, balding beige hair, and small, beady black eyes. He seemed kind enough, though and his smile was infectious.

After not too long, dinner was served. The two adults ignored Percy for most of the meal, completed occupied with each other. Percy didn't mind that so much, but he didn't like the way his mother was looking at Gabe. And though his mother was so captivated, and noticed nothing, Percy began to notice things. The way Gabe couldn't quite meet Sally's eyes when talking about his job. The way he snapped at Percy when he asked the same question three times in a row. The way he looked around the apartment as though it was something he was thinking of buying.

But he acted so friendly, laughing at all Sally's jokes, speaking to Percy as though he was a real grownup. There was just something… odd about him.

Finally, it seemed to Percy, the evening was over. Sally blushed and smiled as Gabe said goodnight and kissed her on the cheek. She sighed as she shut the door. Then she turned to Percy.

"Well, Percy, what did you think of Mr. Ugliano?"

"He's…" Percy struggled to find the right words. Gabe acted like a verynice person, smiling, laughing at jokes. But Percy had the strangest feeling that he wasn't telling them everything about himself. "I dunno," finished Percy thoughtfully.

"I think he's wonderful!" Sally sighed.

Percy bit his lower lip slightly. This was not good.

* * *

"So?" asked Annabeth, as she swung upside down from the bars, her honey coloured curls brushing the dusty rocks. "Who's this new guy your mom likes so much?"

Percy sighed, rubbing a pebble between his fingers. "His name is Gabe. He seems nice enough, but…I dunno."

Annabeth frowned at him with a slightly red face. It was recess at the elementary school, and Annabeth were Percy were chatting as Annabeth hung upside-down from the bars the kids liked to use for gymnastics. Percy was sitting at the base, fiddling with the pebbles.

"What's wrong with him?" Annabeth asked. Percy hadn't said that anything was wrong with Gabe, but the two could practically read each other's emotions.

Percy dropped his pebble and wrapped his arms around his knees. "I don't know… there's just something weird about him. The way he looked at our stuff."

Annabeth dropped from the bar. If she had kept her head straight, she probably would have broken her neck, but she bent her neck so that she landed in a perfect summersault, and rolled agilely to a sitting position next to Percy. Percy just started at her.

"Are you sure, Percy? Are you sure you don't just dislike him because your mom likes him… and he's not your dad?"

She had hit a nerve. Glaring at her, Percy stood up. "Fine. I shouldn't have expected _you_ to understand."

And he stalked off angrily.

"Percy!" cried Annabeth. "Wait! I didn't…"

She stopped. It was no use; he was already gone. Annabeth sighed, flopping onto her back on the rocks. Sometimes, she just couldn't say the right thing.

"Sorry…" she whispered to the wind.

* * *

Percy had hoped desperately that his mom would only stay with Gabe for a few weeks, at most. But it didn't seem to be the case. His mom and Gabe had been dating for nearly six months, and things only seemed to be getting more serious. Gabe came over for dinner once or twice a week, and Sally and Gabe went out a few days a week as well. Percy found himself spending a lot more time at Annabeth's house.

A few months after Sally and Gabe had first met, Annabeth had come over and met Gabe. He had been nicer than Percy had ever seen him, calling Annabeth a sweet little girl, complementing her curls and her dress.

"I think he seems very nice, Percy. I don't know what you're worried about," she had said.

Percy had just scowled. Maybe Annabeth was partly right. Maybe part of the reason he disliked Gabe so much _was_ because Gabe just wasn't his father. And small as he was, Percy just couldn't understand how his mom could love anyone but his dad. He just couldn't.

But still… there were other things about Gabe that Percy didn't like. No one else saw the way Gabe acted when he was alone with Percy.

When Sally was around, Gabe was so nice to Percy. His ruffled his hair, laughed at his jokes, and talked to him like a real adult. But things were different when Sally wasn't around. When Annabeth wasn't around.

When Percy spoke, Gabe looked at him like he was something disgusting he had just stepped in. If Percy tried to tell a joke, Gabe would say something like, "You know that's not funny, right?" And when Gabe 'ruffled' his hair. It felt more like he was pulling it. Trying to yank it out by the roots.

Percy could've written a long list of the things that he didn't like about Gabe. But no one believed him.

Sally, on the other hand, was absolutely enamoured by Gabe. Next to Poseidon, he was definitely the most charming man she had ever met. And every time they met, she seemed to learn more about him. He often told her about his tragic past—the way his mom had died… his dad had left him…he had ended up in the foster system…Sally just couldn't believe a man could still be so strong after all of that.

But of course, she didn't notice the little things he did when her back was turned. She didn't know what went on behind closed doors.

At the end of a date with Gabe on their six-month anniversary, Gabe took both of her small hands in his big ones, and knelt down on one knee.

"Sally," he said, "I know we haven't known each other for so long, but you are the love of my life."

He pulled out a small, slightly tattered box. The ring inside wasn't extravagant, just a simple silver band. But Sally liked it all the same.

"Sally Jackson, will you marry me?

* * *

 **A/N: Ugh, don't you just _hate_ Gabe? Raise your hand if you do. *Runs around waving both hands in the air.* Anyways, tiny bit of a cliffy today. But then again, there are only two possible outcomes... yes and no. What do you all think is gonna happen? **

**Please review! Makes me sooooo happy. And follow. and favourite (Do those too)**

 **Until next week! XD**


	8. Bubblegum Rings

"But mom!

"Percy!" warned Sally, waving her spatula at him. "We've talked about this."

"But… you can't..." Percy flopped down onto a chair, frustrated to the verge of tears.

"Why can't I?" Sally turned on him. "Why can't I marry Gabe, Percy? What makes you think he's such a terrible guy? He makes me happy, Percy. Why can't I be happy?"

Percy sighed a long shaking sigh. "I don't know! I don't like him, mom, I really don't! Please don't marry him…Please."

Sally huffed irritably. "But I want to marry him Percy. I love him. And this is silly. Why should I need the opinion of a seven-year-old boy to ask who to marry? I think I can choose for myself."

Percy leapt up, knocking the chair over. Her felt a funny lump in his throat, and his eyes were burning. "I'M ALMOST EIGHT!"

And he ran out the door, slamming it loudly behind him. He wasn't really sure where he was going; he wasn't even wearing shoes. But he couldn't stand to stay and he couldn't stand to stay and see his mom get engaged to that horrible man.

Percy ran down the sidewalk, not watching where he was going, his head in his hands. His ran into something small and soft, and toppled to the ground.

"Percy!"

He looked up. The something that he run into was Annabeth. She looked slightly baffled.

Percy sighed. "Hi Annie."

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, holding out her hand and pulling him to his feet.

"I dunno. Running?"

"How come?"

"It's my mom. She's gonna marry that Gabe guy. I hate him! Why does she have to marry him?"

Annabeth listened patiently as the two walked side by side. They passed a small gumball machine, and Percy stopped, fishing a quarter out of his pocket and shoving it into the machine.

"I mean, it's like my mom doesn't even care if I'm happy! Does she think that stupid guy is gonna make me happy? Cause he's not! I hate him! Hate, hate, him!" Percy looked down at the small coloured ball sitting in his palm. "And my gumball isn't a real gumball." Percy threw it to the ground, where it bounced once and landed in the gutter. He buried his face in his hands. Annabeth stood awkwardly beside him, unsure of how to react.

Finally, Percy looked up again, wiping his eyes and sniffling slightly. He leaned over and picked up the little plastic ball that had come in place of the gumball. That was the thing about those machines. Most of the time, they gave you the colourful gumballs that turned tough and flavourless within minutes and left your tongue stained some bright hue of blue, red or yellow. But sometimes, a tiny plastic bubble with a toy came out. The toys were all small, cheap and plastic, not worth more than the 25 cents that was payed for it.

Percy squeezed the small bubble, letting the translucent blue top pop off and tumble to the ground. He picked up the small plastic toy that sat inside.

It was a small ring, the base part made out of clear plastic, the small plastic gem a translucent red. It brought everything back; his father's death, Gabe, his mom's remarriage. Annabeth watched in silence as Percy tried to discreetly wipe his eyes again.

"I don't know why grown-ups want to get married," he muttered. Then, with a sudden change of demeanor, he knelt dramatically down on one knee. "Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?" he asked regally, as though it would be the greatest honour in the world.

Annabeth gave a loud, false squeal. "I would be so honoured."

Percy got up, laughing, and Annabeth giggled along with him.

The laughter dying out, Percy turned the ring slowly between his fingers. "My mom isn't gonna be happy for long, I know it. I don't know how anyone could marry a man like that." He glanced up at Annabeth. "Don't ever marry a guy like that horrible Gabe, Annie. You have to promise me that."

"I—"

"How about you marry me, Annie? When we're all grown-up we can get married and you'll never have to marry a man like stupid Gabe."

"I would—"

"Here," Percy held out the ring. "Take it, Annie. As long as you wear it, I promise that one day, we can get married, and you'll never have to marry a guy like—him. Cause you're my best friend, Annie, and I already love ya."

Annabeth smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

Percy slipped the small plastic ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. It was much too big, and hung loosely as though it was about to fall. Percy opened his mouth to say something, but Annabeth shushed him. "Here."

She let the ring slide off her ring finger, then she wiggled it onto her thumb, where it fit snugly.

Percy closed his hands around hers. "Don't ever take it off, Annie. As long as we're best friends, you have to wear it."

"Okay," she bobbed her head up and down eagerly. "I'll wear it forever. I promise."

* * *

Every night, Percy looked out the window of the apartment. He squinted up at the stars, trying to see them through the glare of the city lights. They didn't look the same as they did when he was camping. He looked at the constellations and wished to every one of them. But mostly, he wished on the star that he knew belonged to him and Annabeth. If any star answered his wish, it would be that one.

Percy wasn't a dumb kid. He understood that the stars were just suns that were very far away—well, sort of—but that didn't keep him from wishes. Percy wished a lot of things on the stars, late at night when he should have been asleep. He wished his dad would come back, swinging the door open with a bang, and grinning like he used to. Percy wished that Annabeth would always stay safe. Nothing could happen to her. But most of all, he wished that his mother wouldn't marry Gabe. That she would see him for who he really was.

But of course, wishes made on tiny pricks of light in the sky so rarely come true. And this time was no exception. It seemed the stars had betrayed him.

There was a lot of planning to be done. Wedding plans. Big, extravagant, wonder filled—that's what Sally wanted. She argued with Gabe for every last detail. He wanted to keep it simple, invite a couple people they knew, have it be more personal, more private.

But Percy could hear the undertone of Gabe's sweet words. He wanted the wedding over with. He wanted a steady home where he didn't have to pay rent. Percy was perceptive. And he wasn't enjoying it.

Annabeth was being no help. She pretended to hate Gabe for Percy's benefit, but he saw right through it. They had asked her to be flower girl. They were going to 'ask' Percy to be ring bearer. But whether he said yes or no would make no difference. Percy didn't understand how he was the only one who disliked Gabe.

The wedding came far too soon. The wedding invitations were sent out, plain and simple, to a couple of friends and family. Sally's old wedding dress was going to be reused. She wanted to buy a new one, but Gabe convinced her otherwise with talk of conserving the environment and saving money. But when Gabe had to be convinced to wear a tux to the wedding, it was the final straw for Percy.

"Your ruining it," he said quietly, as some of his mom's friends helped slide her into the pearly white sequined wedding dress.

"What?" asked Sally, slightly startled, holding her long, dark hair to the side as her bridesmaids struggled with the zipper.

"The wedding dress!" said Percy. "You married my dad in it! And now you're making it all…gross by marring your stinky Gabe guy in it. I hate him, mom."

Sally sighed, leaning her perfectly made-up face close to Percy's small, pouty one. "Honey, I promise you, you will learn to like Gabe. He's really a very nice man."

Percy was shooed out of the room by Sally's bridesmaids. He walked outside into the park where the wedding to be held. Sally said that Gabe decided to have the wedding outside so that they could enjoy the fresh air. Percy said it was because he was too cheap to reserve a church. Lost deep in his thoughts, he nearly walked into Annabeth, who was fidgeting with her dress.

"Oh—hello Percy!" she said, tugging gently at the lacy hemline of her dress.

"Hi," said Percy gloomily.

"How do I look?" asked Annabeth nervously. She was wearing a fairly simple, white flower girl dress, with pearly white sequins and tiny fairy wings on the back. A tiny crown sat crookedly on top of her bouncy gold princess curls that were pulled back into a half pony tail. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. Percy thought that she looked very pretty, but he didn't want to say so.

"Nice," he said instead. "But your crown is a little crooked.

"Oh!" said Annabeth, reaching up to straighten it. "When are you gonna get dressed?"

"Do I have to?" Percy asked sulky.

"Yes!" said Annabeth, straightening with a bossy sort of voice. "And you know what? After the wedding, the flower girl and the ring bearer are 'posed to get married."

Percy looked skeptical. "Have you ever been to a wedding, Annie?"

"Well… no, but…"

"Only grown-ups are allowed to get married! We have to wait 'till were all grown up to get married…If we even want to!" he added hastily at the excited expression on her face.

Annabeth twisted her small, plastic ring around her thumb, where it had been ever since Percy had given it to her. "Well, it's in my wedding rules. Someday, when we're all grown-up, we have to—"

"Percy!" one of Sally's bridesmaids was running towards them, holding up the hem of her flowy, coral pink dress. "Thank goodness! Why aren't you dressed yet?! The wedding starts in 20 minutes! Come on! ... You look adorable, Annabeth, by the way!" she gushed as she dragged Percy away by the arm.

"Thanks, Ella!" called Annabeth. Percy waved goodbye glumly.

Half an hour later, when Percy had been squeezed into a tiny suit and tie, the wedding began (ten minutes late). A small band that had been hired by Gabe played a wedding procession march, as Annabeth skipped down the aisle, beaming from her dimples to her toes, skipping and tossing pink flower petals over the white carpet that made up the aisle.

Percy followed closely after, trying not to scowl, holding a lacy pillow with two little rings lightly sewed on.

When Annabeth and Percy reached the front of the aisle, they stood and waited. They watched as Sally came out, looking so young and beautiful in her wedding dress. And then the ceremony started. Percy and Annabeth stood as the man Gabe had hired to marry them began to talk.

Percy stared at a bird pecking around nearby. He glanced over at Annabeth, who was absentmindedly trying to pull a sequin off her dress. Percy put a hand out to stop her. She smiled at him.

After what seemed like an eternity, the man who was marrying them looked up. "Does anyone object."

ME! Percy wanted to scream. But he couldn't. At the expression on his face, Annabeth grabbed his hand and squeezed. He looked at her gratefully.

"I now pronounce you man and wife! Gabe you may kiss the bride."

Percy looked away. Beside him, Annabeth was clapping as hard as anyone.

* * *

Percy stared at the cover of the book. I Can Read! it said in big, mocking letters. Percy was in the fourth Grade, almost fifth, and he was still having a lot of trouble reading. His mom had taken him to tons of doctors, and they all said the same thing: dyslexia, ADHD. He'll learn to live with it.

Percy's mind went in a million different directions as the words swum around the page. The door opened in the entranceway, then slammed shut. He could hear Sally talking to Gabe, who had just walked in. She was laughing happily as she talked as usual, but Gabe sounded different. His voice was low, irritated and unhappy. Percy chucked his book across the room, and got up to see what the matter was.

Sally looked as happy as usual, stirring a large batch of cookie-dough in a big, silver bowl, her stained blue apron on, her hair falling out of its ebony bun. She looked quite pretty. Gabe, however, looked quite the opposite. The scowl on his face brought every one of his ugly features out. He almost looked fatter and balder than usual. He glared over at Sally, whose laugh faltered. She looked up at him, concerned.

"Gabe? What's the matter?"

With an incoherent grunt, Gabe stomped into the kitchen, Sally and Percy following helplessly behind. Gabe slammed open the fridge door, and pulled out a beer. He marched back to the living room, looking uglier than ever. A million rude nicknames flew through Percy's mind.

Gabe slumped into the best chair of the house, with the expression of one who clearly did not want to talk. But Sally wasn't about to let it go.

"Gabe what…?"

Gabe glared at her and muttered something unintelligible. Percy caught the word job. His stomach dropped.

"I just lost my job," sulked Gabe.

Percy's heart sank. He knew it. He knew something like this would happen. Sally gasped. Gabe popped open his beer, bringing it to his lips.

It wasn't his last.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey people! So sorry I didn't update last week! Homework, and stuff, y'know. I will try my hardest to update again next Monday! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, please review (and follow and favourite), cause I love your feedback, and it inspires me to write. What do you think is gonna happen next?**

 **Happy Halloween! XD**


	9. Broken Bottles

As slowly as he could, Percy turned the door handle. With the air of ninja, he inched the door forwards, wincing at the tiny squeak of the hinges. He crept into the apartment, shutting the door behind his with a small click. With a small, relieved exhale, Percy leaned back against the door, sliding his backpack down beside him as his eyes swept the room.

It was amazing how much the apartment had changed in the last month. Crushed cans and bottles littered the floor, most empty, some still fizzling slightly with alcohol. Percy still remembered the first beer can Gabe had drained, crushed, tossed over his shoulder carelessly. Sally had picked it up with such care, dropping it into the garbage. She still tried to pick them all up—there were moments when the apartment almost looked normal—but they seemed to come faster than she could clean.

The furniture had been shifted around, the couches that had been arranged in such a homely fashion were in disarray. The soft, old carpet Sally had bought for so cheap that gave the room such an antique atmosphere was shoved up against the wall, crumpled. Scuff marks from the couch trailed across the ugly grey tiles underneath.

Percy was late. Not by much, maybe an hour, but he knew if Gabe found out he would pay dearly for his hour of fun with Annabeth. He tried to spend as much time away from home with his best friend as possible, but once he finally had to come home it seemed to make it worse. He seemed to be in luck today, though. Gabe was nowhere in sight.

Picking up his bag, Percy crept towards his room. He was almost there… his hand was reaching towards the handle…

"Freeze, punk."

Percy whipped around. His backpack fell to the floor with a dull clunk.

Gabe stood in the open door of his room. He was smiling nastily at Percy with his dull yellow teeth. And he smelled awful. He had never exactly smelled like roses in the first place, but it was a hundred times worse now. Percy wished he could plug his nose.

Gabe smelled like alcohol, like sweat, and vomit, like someone who hadn't even bothered to change in months. Sometimes Percy worried the smell would rub off on him.

"So…" Gabe circled Percy, a slight sway to his step. "Late. Again. Care to tell me what you were doing?"

"I—I just…"

"Shut up. I don't like hearing your stupid little voice. Though it was okay to come home late, eh? Thought maybe old Gabe could manage by himself?" He paused, grabbing an empty beer can from the top of a bookshelf and crushing it in his fist. "Thought you'd just leave me here all alone? Are you aware that I have no job? That I have no little friends to run to when my family is being mean?" he mocked.

Percy could feel himself quivering slightly, but he stood up tall and looked Gabe right in the eye. "You're not my family. Never have been, never will be."

Gabe grinned his nasty grin. "Is that so, little punk? Well I'm the big one here, and I say we're family. And you know what family does for each other? Favours. So do me a favour, little punk, and get me a beer from the kitchen."

"Haven't you had enough…?"

"GO!"

Percy ran from the room. When Gabe's beer was delivered, the monster slightly subdued, Percy grabbed his backpack, tore into his room and slammed the door. Flinging his bag off into a corner, Percy slumped onto his bed.

Gabe's drinking habits weren't the only thing that had changed. Every single slightly nice pretense was gone. Around Sally, Gabe still tried to pretend he didn't absolutely detest Percy, but he still clearly did not like him. Gabe wasn't even nice to Sally anymore.

Curled up on his bed, Percy wondered how much more of the verbal abuse he could take. He hated being called 'punk' and things like it all the time. Gabe was a bully. Just a big, ugly bully.

'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,' quoted Percy in his thoughts. It made him feel just a little bit better.

He was right, and he wasn't right. It was just never the words that hurt him the most, in the end.

* * *

"This is nice," said Annabeth. "I haven't been to your house in ages!"

Percy glanced back at her. He had no idea how she had convinced him to let her tag along back to his place. It was probably a mess inside. Maybe part of him was hoping that it would finally show her that Gabe wasn't the wonderful person she still seemed to believe he was.

Percy quickly turned the handle, and wrenched the door open. He blinked. The room was perfectly tidy. Even the carpet was temporarily back into place. Sally must have come home early.

A moment later it was evident she had, as her voice called out from the kitchen.

"Percy? Is that you?"

"Yeah! I brought a friend."

Sally emerged from the kitchen, holding a dish towel and a plate, her hair in a messy black bun. "Hello, Annabeth. You picked a good day to come along! I've been cleaning all afternoon." She shot Gabe a look Percy didn't miss.

Gabe seemed to be doing something new today. He had another fat, ugly friend with him, and both of them were holding cards and laughing stupidly. In the middle of the table between them were several messy piles, of small, round plastic things, and piles of crumpled bills and coins. A beer sat by each of the men.

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked, walking up behind Gabe a peering over his shoulder at the cards in his hand.

"Huh? Poker," said Gabe, barely looking up at her. Annabeth looked a bit hurt.

"Want a pop, Annie?" asked Percy in means of distraction.

Annabeth nodded and the two headed off for the kitchen.

"So what are you doing for Thanksgiving weekend?" asked Annabeth once they were both sipping orange crush, cold from the fridge.

Percy looked sadly at the ground. "I'm not sure. I don't even know if we're gonna to have a turkey this year."

"Oh," said Annabeth. There was an awkward pause. "Why not?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think Gabe wants to."

Annabeth frowned. It looked as though her liking for Gabe was fading. Obviously distracted, she grabbed a can from the counter, bringing towards her mouth.

Percy watched, confused. There was something off about the can of soda…Percy stared more closely. Suddenly, he saw it. The way the outside of the can seemed to be hanging off…he could smell it from there.

"Don't drink that!" cried Percy, snatching the funny-looking can from Annabeth's grip. Annabeth looked startled.

Percy struggled to cover it up. "Erm…It was mine from earlier and I forgot to throw it out…" he said, trying to be non-conspicuous as he tossed the old can into the garbage behind him. Annabeth still looked a bit confused, but she dropped it, reaching for the can that really was hers.

It was one of the many weird things Gabe had started doing. Why he did it, Percy wasn't sure. Perhaps it was make Percy and Sally think he was drinking less than he really was, but it didn't fool anyone. Gabe had taken to cutting the outside part off of a soda can, and putting around beer cans so it looked like he was drinking harmless soda. He did a crude job of it, and to anyone who was paying any attention at all, it was obvious that the can was not soda.

Annabeth almost drank some of the vile stuff. Percy shuddered at the thought. He hated that his step-father, a man who he had never liked, was transforming into this horrible creature. The alcohol looked like poison to Percy, and he felt he would scream if any of the toxic liquid got into his best friend's innocent body.

Noticing that Percy's good mood seemed to have faded, Annabeth left soon afterwards, with excuses of homework and piano lessons. Gabe's 'friend' seemed to have left, too, and Gabe was sitting slumped on the couch. The pile of money had noticeably diminished. But the empty beer bottles had very definitely increased.

"Stop it," Percy told him.

Gabe looked up, disgust clear on his drunken face, but made no answer.

"Stop leaving your beer lying all around!" said Percy, more desperately. "It's really gross. Annabeth almost drank some, do you know that?"

Gabe stood up. Short and fat as he was, he still seemed to tower over Percy. "Why should I care if your little girlfriend drank my beer? That's her problem, 'innit?"

"No!" Percy knew that talking back would get him in trouble. He knew he should have stopped there. But he couldn't. His hatred of Gabe, simmering for so long, was threatening to boil over. "What you drink is none of my business! If you want to be all gross, fine! Be that way! But when you almost poison my best friend…"

Percy faltered at the look on Gabe's face. Cold, hard hatred filled every line of his face as he glared down at Percy. The man was very clearly drunk. But for the first time, Percy felt truly scared of him

"Punk," hissed Gabe, grabbing Percy by the collar and pulling him up. "Don't you insult me. You are nothing but an ignorant little brat."

His hand, chubby and grimy, had never looked menacing before. But it did as it landed across Percy's face hard, with a cold, resounding smack.

* * *

 **A/N: HELLO! And I am back with another chapter! Sorry for the wait, I only have two words: homework, procrastination. A tiny cliffhanger this chapter...sorry. Wait...no, not sorry.**

 **I realized I've forgot to say to say this up to now, but THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR FOLLOWS AND FAVOURITES REVIEWS AND AHHHHHH! They make me really happy.**

 **I'm very excited to write the next few chapters (can you see where this is going?). I'll try and update next week, but no promises. Until later!**

 **One last thing to this very long AN: I wrote a fun little oneshot called 'I can't help falling in love with you'... my Percabeth shippers should go check it out!**

 **-GGW**


	10. Unanswered Questions

"What happened?" hissed Annabeth, the second Percy slid into his seat the next day. Her intense grey eyes had followed him from the second he slipped through the classroom door, and now they demanded answers.

Percy brought a hand to the light purple bruise on his cheek, panic flashing through his eyes. "Is it very noticeable?" he whispered so only Annabeth could hear.

"No…" she replied, her fair eyebrows scrunching in confusion. "Of course not! You just look tired. I know better, though. Won't you tell what happened?"

Percy glanced out the window, avoided her question. The rain that dripped rhythmically down the window seemed to reflect the raging storm of emotions inside. He could almost feel Annabeth's quizzical gaze on the back of his head, but chose to ignore it.

She sighed. "Percy?" her voice was gentle.

"Hmm?"

"You were going to tell me what happened."

Percy's mind raced. _Could_ he tell Annabeth what had happened? What would she do if she knew that Gabe had hit him? Annabeth was a wonderful friend, and he trusted her more than anyone else in the world. But still, could she keep a secret? And if she really knew, if she told, who would get in trouble for it?

Gabe's rage flashed through Percy's mind as he tried to make up his mind. He could remember the fire in Gabe's eyes. He had never seen anything quite like it. And as much as he hated to admit it, it had scared him. A lot. He didn't want to see it again. So, with his heart pounding, he decided to lie. "I—I was playing soccer and—and the ball h—hit me in the face?" Percy faltered. It came out more like question.

 _See sees through it_ , was Percy's first thought. Annabeth still looked confused, and slightly skeptical. And for some reason, slightly hurt.

Percy was expecting the worst, so when Annabeth's words came he was surprised. "Who were you playing soccer with?"

"I—a friend. You don't know him."

Annabeth still looked hurt and slightly uncomfortable. "Did—why…didn't you invite me to play?"

Percy almost laughed in relief. "I—I knew you were—were out with—your dad."

"Oh." Annabeth looked relieved. "Well that's nice. Clumsy Percy!" she giggled.

Percy tried to laugh along with her. He tried to convince himself that he felt relieved Annabeth hadn't guessed, but a tiny part of him was hurt that she had believed his story so easily. Could she see that there was something more to it?

Percy shoved the annoying thoughts aside. _I'm glad she doesn't know_ , he tried to convince himself.

But looking at her he knew that was all wrong. He wanted the support of the round faced girl beside side him, with her bouncy curls and bubbly smile. He turned to her. He opened his mouth to tell her the truth.

No words came out.

It was a horrible thing, too horrible for the innocent ears of the girl whose eyelashes caught the light distractingly as she coloured carefully and slowly inside the lines with a red crayon.

It would probably never happen again anyways. Gabe had been drunk. Percy _had_ been the one to speak back to him. Maybe…maybe Percy _deserved it._

Percy swallowed hard. If it was all his fault, he couldn't tell Annabeth. It was too horrible.

He turned away.

 _Not today, not now._

The day seemed to crawl by. Percy heard almost none of the teacher's questions, and got himself sent to the principal's office twice. It barely bothered him, though. What bothered him was that he would have to face Gabe when he got home.

 _He was just drunk,_ Percy kept trying to tell himself. _He won't. Not again._

Annabeth noticed his distraction as they walked home together. An uncomfortable silence filled the air between them that was usually alive with laughter and chatter. Percy stared straight ahead, unaware of the worried looks that Annabeth was giving him.

"I'm sorry."

Percy started, and looked over at Annabeth. Her soft lips were turned down in a frown, and her eyes were filled with concern.

"What?" he asked.

"You haven't said a word since we left school. I was saying sorry in case I did something to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you."

There was a bizarre ache in Percy's chest as he stared into Annabeth's stormy grey eyes. It was a funny sensation. _Tell her_ , said the irritating little voice in his head. Annabeth would help him. She was strong. She was smart.

But he couldn't tell her. He still couldn't. Some part of him deep inside wouldn't let him.

"No, it's not you," he said. "I'm just—tired, that's all." With a flick of his hand, he waved off her apology.

The concern in her eyes didn't fade.

When the two went their separate ways, Percy warily climbed the stairs back up the apartment. It had once been a relief to come to each day. When he pulled open the doors, he would be greeted by his mother's warm arms, the wonderful smells of baking and a beautiful sense of home.

Now Sally worked long hours at the job that only seemed to pay minimum wage, and Percy almost always came home to Gabe. The wafting smell of baking had long faded, and was replaced by the rancid stench of alcohol. The sense of home was fading too.

Percy slipped unnoticed through the door. Gabe was very obviously occupied with several equally ugly men, as the played their game with the beer and the money.

 _They're multiplying,_ Percy thought.

He walked slowly and quietly past the men. No one turned to look at him. Percy thought he had gone unnoticed, until…

"Oh look, the little punk is home from failing school," said Gabe, without even looking up. His friends guffawed stupidly.

Percy froze in his tracks. Gabe had hit a nerve. Percy had always wanted to do better in school, but it wasn't his fault that the words liked to swim around the page, or that he couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes. Every instinct he had told him to turn around, march over to Gabe, and punch him. But picking a fight wasn't the answer. He would be just as bad as Gabe.

So, trying to hold his head high, Percy continued on his way to his bedroom.

"Wimp," he heard Gabe murmur behind him.

As Percy lay down on his soft bed, everything fell apart. How could something so small be so damaging? Percy seemed to manage to pick a lot of fights. He'd been hit plenty of times in his life. So what was so different about this time? Maybe it was because it wasn't just a normal schoolyard brawl?

Yet, deep inside, Percy knew what it really was. It was the fact that it came from someone at home. Someone who should have been comforting, loving, _caring_. Someone who should have been a father-figure to Percy.

A million questions were flitting through Percy's mind. What if it happened again? There had been almost no regret in Gabe's eyes when Percy had cried out and clutched his cheek. But maybe Gabe had his reasons for doing all of this. Maybe his insults were just the truth, and Percy really was an ignorant, stupid little wimpy brat. Maybe he deserved it all.

Questions of different genres swirled through Percy's brain. What if Annabeth found out? She could see right through his façade, he could tell. It would break him to see the realization in her eyes. Then again, what if she didn't find out? Though Percy knew that it would hurt her, he also knew that her support would make everything a million times easier.

There were too many unanswered questions as Percy drifted off to sleep that night.

* * *

"Clumsy Percy," giggled Annabeth. "What did you do this time?"

Percy smiled weakly at her as he sat down in his seat. The long, scabbed cut over the right half of his face was clearly visible; something no amount of makeup would have covered up. Sometimes Percy thought that it shouldn't be such a big deal anymore. It was almost a regular thing in his life now. Eating, sleeping, homework… _getting tortured by Gabe Ugliano._ When very first Percy had met Gabe, he had called him 'Mr. Ugly.' Now, Percy thought that it was a very fitting name. It fit him inside and out.

And Annabeth…outside of her giggles and 'clumsy Percy's', she could tell something was wrong. She wasn't sure what, though. The thought of Gabe had never once crossed her mind. It was Percy she was worried about; she didn't see how someone could suddenly become so clumsy. But clumsiness wasn't all that seemed to have changed. She could feel Percy starting to shut her out. They had been best friends for years. They told each other everything. Yet, for the first time in her life, Annabeth knew that Percy was keeping some sort of secret.

Percy dreaded going home now. Every day, he was terrified to come in that door. He knew what waited inside, Gabe and his horrible friends, with their beer and money. Percy had once made the mistake of asking Gabe why he played poker.

"If you've forgotten, _punk_ , I don't have a job. This is how I'm makin' money now," Gabe had growled, pulling Percy up by the scruff of the neck like a little dog.

Still terrified, Percy had mustered up the courage to ask, "How? How are making money? Aren't you just _losing_ money? Mom says you're just losing money."

All it had earned him was another slap in the face.

There was another part of Percy that thought maybe his mother should be defending him. She had never once made any sort of comment about Gabe's abuse, but Percy knew she saw it. She often just pulled him into a hug, for no evident reason she would just drop down onto her knees and wrap him in the most tender hug. She would brush her soft fingers across his face with the utmost tenderness. She would use just a tiny bit of her makeup to cover up some of the worse bruises. And though she covered them well, sometimes Percy saw the faint purple bruises on her cheeks too. He wasn't Gabe's only victim.

Percy was always happy when he got to school in the morning. It was his safe haven. But once he was at school, he had Annabeth to worry about. The constant worry that he should tell her, tell her about everything. He knew she would understand, she had to. But he always managed to persuade himself out of it. _Not today, not now_ , was his constant refrain.

He watched her as she coloured happily, her crayon scratching quietly across the page. She smiled contentedly at the little tree she had drawn. Then she picked up a purple crayon and began to dot lights across it.

 _Why can't I be like that anymore?_ wondered Percy.

And finally, part of him realized what Gabe was doing beyond anything else. Gabe was stealing his innocence.

* * *

 **A/N: HOLD ON GUYS I GOT THIS. *chases Gabe while screaming* *hits him on the head with baseball bat* *throws him out the window* *dusts off hands*. Phew! I saved you all!**

 **THANK YOU for all of your reviews/follows/favourites... they really mean the world to me! Now I have a mission for you... do you think that before next chapter you could get me to 100 follows and 50 reviews? This is your mission. If we make it, I think I will die a little inside.**

 **I will update again soon! Thanks for reading! Sorry for Gabe :(**

 **-GGW**


	11. A Very Blue Christmas

"IT'S HERE!" squealed Annabeth, flying onto her bed. She dramatically flipped a page of her calendar, crossing off the first of the month. Then she rushed over to her CD player, and shoved in a disc. Then smashing the play button, she raced back over to her bed and flopped down next to Percy, who was giggling mercilessly at her antics.

Annabeth breathed deeply, her eyes closed as the music washed over them. There was a large, red 'X' in crayon over December the 1st on her calendar, and the sweet sound of Christmas washed over the two children.

"Jingle bells, jingle bells…" muttered Annabeth along with the track as though she was asleep, as Percy dissolved into another fit of giggles.

Though outside there was but a light dusting of snow, the city was already bright with Christmas lights. As they walked home each day, Percy and Annabeth adored pointing out the most ridiculous houses, with their giant blowup snowmen and Santas, or so many lights that the house seemed drowned in them. One house had a rather deflated Santa hanging from the gutter. It looked as though it had been hung, and sent the two children into gales of laughter so that they could barely stand.

Percy watched the Christmas lights through the window dance as Annabeth hummed beside him. Suddenly, with a huge gasp, she leapt up.

"My advent calendar! I get to open the first door!"

Percy got up to follow his best friend, his spirits falling. He had vague memories from when he was little of his dad buying big fancy chocolate advent calendars though they couldn't really afford it. It had been the highlight of each day until Christmas. Now, with Gabe losing their money daily, and Sally working her longest hours, no one had even _remembered_ an advent calendar. Not even a little picture one.

Annabeth gasped happily as she pulled open the little door to reveal the picture. "Look, Percy! A nutcracker! Nutcracker, nutcracker, nutcracker."

Percy gave her a small, sad smile, not trusting himself to speak. Why couldn't he have one, too?

The carols continued to cycle around as Percy and Annabeth bounced, sang and danced about the room. Finally, one of Annabeth's old favourites, _Oh, Holy Night,_ came on.

"Ooh!" she whispered. "Ooh, I like this one! Percy, dance with me!"

Percy stared at her, confused etched across his face. "Dance with you? Then what were we just doing?"

"No!" giggled Annabeth. "This is a _slow_ song. We should _slow dance_."

Percy felt his face go bright red, but Annabeth didn't seem to notice. She grabbed one of his hands and put it on her waist. Then she put her hand on his shoulder, and grabbed his other hand, which was feeling sort of clammy.

"Um," said Percy, "okay… So what do we do now?"

Annabeth thought for a moment. "Just sort of sway, I think."

For a few moments they swayed back and forth, letting the music soar over them. Percy stared at Annabeth's eyes. Up close, the gunmetal grey seemed to have little specs of blue that swam in it. Annabeth smiled. Percy thought that he could have counted her eyelashes. He could never lose her…she was too precious.

Finally, the song ended. It was Annabeth who pulled away from their awkward, yet sweet position. She flopped over onto her bed. "I like that song. It's pretty."

Percy wasn't really listening. He had just noticed the clock over Annabeth's bed. "Oh no…" he said, "I need to go home now!"

Grabbing his coat, he ran from the room. Annabeth sat up, blinking in surprise. "Bye Percy…" she whispered as his footsteps clunked down the stairs and the door slammed shut behind him.

Percy's feet pounded across the pavement. He hadn't even zipped up his jacket, and the cold wind blew it open, making it useless. Percy shivered, but didn't slow. Gabe hated it when he was late.

With his teeth chattering, Percy finally reached the apartment. He quietly pushed opened the door as he did every day. To his immense relief, Gabe lay fast asleep on the slightly soiled couch, his mouth open in a snore.

Percy crept across the living room, but froze when he heard a noise behind him. The door creaked open. He turned. Sally was walking in, brushing snow out of her long dark hair.

"Hello Percy!" said Sally, the corners of her mouth twitching playfully. "How was Annabeth?"

Percy grinned sheepishly. "Good! I've been home for…"

"A long time, right?" asked Sally, with wide innocent eyes.

Percy laughed. Behind them on the couch Gabe snorted loudly.

"Here," said Sally, handing Percy a small, flimsy plastic bag full of sweets.

"What is it?" asked Percy, peering curiously into the bag.

"Candy!" said Sally, tossing her bag onto a chair behind them and taking a careful perch on the arm of the chair. "Mr. Collins said I was doing such a wonderful job at the shop that I could take some home to you. I chose some blue ones, too, because I know blue's your favourite colour."

Percy beamed at her and opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by another snort from Gabe, this one disbelieving and very much awake.

"Blue candy," he chortled stupidly, one eye open, scratching at his chin with a dirty hand with small, stubby nails lined with grime. "Ain't no such thing as blue food."

Sally looked annoyed. "Who says there can't be blue food?"

Gabe looked at her condescendingly. "I do. 'Snot naturel."

"You're not naturel," Percy muttered under his breath, so that Gabe couldn't hear. Sally, however, heard, and sent Percy a warning look; _let me handle this_.

She crossed her arms. "Oh yeah? And what you do if there was blue food on our table?"

"Wouldn't eat it," said Gabe lazily, leaning back in his chair and shutting his eyes once more.

Sally and Percy shared a playful look, their mouths twitching with concealed laughter. Gabe did not know that in telling them this, he had made a fatal mistake.

"Hey Sal, get me a beer!" piped up Gabe, his eyes sill shut tight. "And some chips and dip too. And do it fast. I'm hungry."

The playful look vanished instantly from Sally's kind face. She leapt to her feet, her eyes blaring with anger once more. "No, I won't. I'm not your slave. If you want them, you'll have to get them yourself."

She stormed off to the kitchen, slamming the door loudly behind her. Gabe opened one bleary eye, a murderous look crossing his face. Percy knew that there was no way in hell Gabe was getting up to fetch himself a beer. Her turned his angry gaze in Percy, who instantly turned away and hurried into his room, locking the door behind him. He had learned not to get in Gabe's way when he looked like that.

Percy lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His ceiling was plain and white, boring and undecorated. He had wanted badly to buy some of the fluorescent star stickers that absorbed light during the day and glowed at night, but Sally had refused, saying that she didn't have to money to waste on something like that.

After a few minutes, Gabe's snores filled the little apartment once more, and Percy knew that it was safe to come out. He crept past Gabe, whose mouth hung open in an unattractive manner, and into the kitchen, where Sally was viciously stirring a big bowl of cookie batter with a wooden spoon. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, stray strands flying, and she wore a blue apron with white pockets. Her clothes were dotted with specs of cookie dough that had managed to escape the bowl, the scene of her vigorous stirring.

Percy pulled himself onto the counter and into a sitting position, so that he was at eye level with Sally. Resting his elbows on his knees, he cupped his chin in his hands and stared at his mother with rosy cheeks, a small smile, and round curious eyes.

For a few moments he watched as her aggressive stirring sent more flecks of dough flying through the air. Then he spoke. "Why are you so mad at the cookie dough?" he asked, with the air of innocence and curiosity.

Sally's hand slowed, as she smiled at her little boy. For a moment she put down the spoon and laughing, gave his head a loving rub. He ducked away, grinning.

"I'm not mad at the cookie dough, dear. I'm…well, I'm guess I'm just mad at Gabe."

"I thought you loved Gabe!" Percy said accusingly.

"I do!" said Sally, though she looked a bit unsure. "I just…don't agree with some of his views."

"So you're beating up the cookie dough? What did it do to deserve _that?_ "

Sally smiled, but didn't answer. Instead she glanced up the cupboard over Percy's head. "While you're up there on the counter," she shot him an irritated look. She always got annoyed when he sat up on the counter, telling him he would fall and crack open his head, "can you pass me the blue food dye? It's in a big glass bottle at the back of the second shelf."

Clambering to his knees, Percy rummaged around until he found the bottle. He pulled it out gingerly. The dye was in a pristine glass bottle that was sort of square and as tall as Percy's small forearm. The dye itself was condensed into a navy blue colour that looked almost black, with just a hint of blue. He passed it carefully to his mother. With a word of thanks, she unscrewed the cap, and filled it with the dye. She dumped one, two, three capfuls of the dye into the bowl, and a few swirls of the wooden spoon later the batter was a brilliant blue.

Sally stared at it with a look of blazing satisfaction. She smiled up at Percy. "Do you want to help me cut the dough into shapes?"

Percy slid off the counter. "What about the chocolate chips?"

Sally laughed. "These are Christmas sugar cookies, honey. We're not using chocolate chips. Now come help me cut these in to shapes. Then we'll make some icing." Sally held the food colouring bottle above her head, examining it with a look of false concentration. "We might have to buy some new food colouring soon! I've a feeling this one will be gone pretty fast."

Percy laughed happily. "That smelly Gabe of yours is gonna hate this!" He looked positively gleeful.

As the oven heated up, the two of them cut the dough into stars, snowmen, trees and Christmas tree baubles with their small sharp knives and cookie cutters. Half an hour later, 32 bright blue Christmas cookies were sliding into the oven. Soon enough, the delicious smell of cookies filled the air.

"Is that cookies I smell?" Gabe's voice rang out through the living room.

"Yes dear," said Sally, "but they're not ready quite yet. You'll have to wait a little longer."

Percy had to stuff his fist in his mouth to stop the giggles.

A snowfall of icing sugar fluttered down into a big bowl by the sink, making a mountain of sugar that mirrored the snow outside. Percy climbed onto a chair to watch as Sally poured milk into the bowl, making small streams of the creamy white liquid track through the fluffy sugar. With a small silver spoon, she mixed the icing to a beautiful consistency. When she turned away to rinse off her hands, Percy stuck his finger in the bowl and popped it in his mouth. It was very sweet and smooth.

Sally turned. She immediately began laughing at Percy, whose finger was still in his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise and guilt.

"Good?" she asked.

He nodded.

Sally stared at the bowl of thick white icing. "Needs something a bit more." She put her hands on her hips in mock thought. "I know!" She picked up the bottle of blue food dye from the counter where it had been sitting. "Maybe a few drops of this will do it."

A minute later the icing was a few shades lighter than cookies themselves, a periwinkle blue to match the sky.

Soon enough, the timer was dinging merrily and the smell of fresh warm cookies was wafting through the house. Sally pulled them out of the oven. The little blue stars seemed to shine like tiny, delicious, azure beacons, soft and warm. Once they had cooled a bit, Percy and Sally did the icing. Sally's were perfect, each cookie had a smaller, immaculate silhouette of itself inside. Percy was covered head to foot in sticky blue icing, his cookies iced with messy, blobby stokes. They looked cute sitting next to Sally's pristine ones, so obviously a child and a mother.

"The final touch!" said Sally, pulling out a small bottle of sprinkles with a flourish. Each sprinkle was shaped like a tiny star and coloured a different shade of blue. Percy poured some in his hands and scattered them across his cookies. Sally carefully placed them on the corner of each star, and in the form of light on the trees and decorations on the baubles.

"Are them cookies ready now?" Gabe's voice called out from the living room.

"Yes dear!" called Sally, wiping the last of the blue icing off of Percy's small round face with a dishcloth. "In the kitchen. Come and get some."

Though he hated moving from his chair, the prospect of cookies lured Gabe to the kitchen. With a loud grunt, they heard him shuffle across the floor. Sally handed Percy his tray of cookies, and held out her own. They both smiled innocently as the kitchen door banged open and Gabe stared at the sight before him. 32 bright blue cookies, 16 done by a professional hand, 16 done by a child's. Gabe's mouth opened, but no sound came out. His face was very slowly turning purple.

Sally tried to look concerned. "What's the matter, honey? Don't you want some sugar cookies?"

Gabe gaped at her like a fish. "Blue…cookies?" he finally asked in a strangled voice.

Sally glanced over at Percy in mock concern. "Yes…is there something wrong?"

Gabe exploded. "FOOD IS NOT BLUE! FOOD CANNOT BE BLUE! THIS IS A DISGUSTING…A DIGUSTING _WASTE_ OF GOOD COOKIES. I REFUSE TO EAT ANY BLUE FOOD WHAT SO EVER!"

"Well that's really too bad," said Sally.

Gabe stepped forward, his hand raised. Sally winced back, and Percy dove in front of her. "I have a tray," he warned, holding up his messily decorated cookies, "and I'm not afraid to use it."

With a scowl, Gabe retreated back to his couch in the living room. Sally and Percy burst into silent giggles. When they recovered their breath, Sally picked up a cookie from her tray and motioned for Percy to do the same.

"A toast," she said, bumping her cookie against his, "to blue cookies! To blue food! You know, I think it's time we made dinner."

And standing up, she brushed off her hands, stuffed her cookie in her mouth and reached up into the freezer, standing on her toes so her petite form could reach the top shelf. "How does spaghetti sound?"

Gabe didn't eat anything that night at dinner, but went to bed grumpy and annoyed. Percy and Sally went to bed with rather blue mouths.

The next morning Percy handed Annabeth a small Ziploc full of cookies under the desk that they shared.

"Thanks!" said Annabeth. She stared at the bright blue cookies, each made carefully by Percy's little hand, their icing smeared across the inside of the bag. She peered inside the little bag, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Why're they so blue? Did I miss something? Did a Smurf explode?"

Percy smiled, a faraway look in his eyes. "It's a long story."

The peaceful day seemed to slip away. Percy caught Annabeth sneakily eating pieces of her cookies in class. The teacher caught her too, but instead of giving her trouble, the teacher stared quizzically down her square glasses at the cookies, took one for herself, and gave the rest back to Annabeth.

"Look!" said Annabeth, as they bundled into snow-pants and jackets later that afternoon. "It's snowing!"

Indeed it was, great, fluffy white flakes tumbling down in spirals. The wind was mild, and through the snowy dim hundreds of Christmas lights were illuminated. Percy and Annabeth walked home in a comfortable silence, absorbing the Christmas-y feel to the air. Snowflakes gathered on top of Percy's raven hair, dotting it white. They gathered inside each of Annabeth's golden curls, making tiny snowdrifts. They gathered on their shoulders and in the creases of backpacks and clothing. The world was covered in a dusting of icing sugar, soft and fluffy.

Annabeth stopped abruptly. "Let's take this street home today! We never take this one."

It was a small side-street, almost hidden amongst the massive houses. It looked as though, just for this one street, time had stopped. The pavement was old and cracked, made young and jolly by the dancing snow. Old fashion street-lights, more like lanterns lined the road, tall black iron posts holding up the glass lamps, with four sides that gradually widened towards the top, topped with a small iron peak. A soft orange light was emitted, illuminating the street with its gentle glow. Each house had its own array of twinkling Christmas lights, yet there was nothing too tacky or loud or too bright.

The snow seemed to swarm to the soft orange street lights and the colourful Christmas lights, billowing in the soft wind.

"It's so pretty," whispered Percy.

Annabeth nodded. For a moment, they walked in silence. In most of the colourfully lit houses light blinked out of the windows. The perfect picture of serenity and love. The distant traffic seemed to die away.

Annabeth began to sing. Her voice was high, clear and sweet, the sound of innocence and youth. She raised her face, her eyes shut, singing into the swirling snow.

 _"_ _Silent night, holy night_

 _All is calm, all is bright…"_

Percy drank in her words, glancing around. It was pretty quiet out here, calm and bright as the song said. But…

Percy almost wished he could stare into those houses. Was it all really as calm as it seemed to be? He shivered. However 'calm and bright' _his_ house looked from the outside, it was never that way on the inside. There was always the shouting, the pain, the scent of alcohol…Percy absentmindedly rubbed a painful bruise on his left arm.

 _"_ _Round yon virgin mother and child_

 _Holy infant so tender and mild_

 _Sleep in heavenly peace_

 _Sleep in heavenly peace."_

Annabeth's song sounded muffled now in Percy's ears. He wondered how Christmas could be so happy when such horrible things happened in the world. He was scared, scared that Christmas would never again be as happy for him as it was in the eyes of the little girl beside him. He was scared of Gabe. He was scared that somewhere in one of those calm and peaceful houses around him, something terrible was happening.

He stared up at the Christmas lights, his eyes struggling slightly to focus. Red. The colour of Santa Claus, of Christmas and joy. But Percy couldn't see it. Red. Red like his cheeks when Gabe had slapped them. Red like those tiny drops of blood that sometimes made it to the floor…

Heart racing, Percy turned away, so that he was facing another house. Green. That was the colour of the old bruises. The ones that were almost healed. Before they were reinforced.

Percy turned. He couldn't escape. Purple…the colour of all of the freshest bruises, the ones that hurt the most…more blood red…more bruise green… yellow… orange… blue… white...

Percy could feel the cold pavement on his knees through his snow pants. The world was a mess of colours and lights. Somewhere above him, the singing came to a stop, the little bird no longer singing, silent in the face of danger.

"Percy?" she whispered.

Percy felt himself falling to the ground. Darkness edged around his vision.

"Percy? _Percy!_ _Percy!_ HELP! HELP! HEL— "

* * *

Percy blinked. Everything was very white and clean. The smell of cleaning chemicals filled the air. He turned his head sleepily, trying to blink the bright light out of his eyes and bring the room into focus. A woman stood by a small table with her back to him, straightening out what looked like some papers.

 _Hospital,_ thought Percy sleepily. Why was he in the hospital? Had something happened? Percy turned over and stifled a gasp. There, looking irritated, sat Gabe. He saw that Percy was awake, and an ugly, forced smile appeared on his lips.

"Wha-what happened?" asked Percy, his voice coming out low and scratchy.

Gabe leered at him. "You fainted, _bud_. You're luck you were with your smart little friend. She's got brains."

"Why? What'd she do?"

Gabe grunted. "Didn't panic. Found help right away. Got you here asap."

Percy looked away from Gabe and back up to the white tiled ceiling. Why had he fainted? He could barely remember."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the nurse move. He turned to look at her. She smiled at him encouragingly.

"You'll be fine, dear. You'll most likely be able to go home in a few hours."

She straightened her papers once more against the desk, then marched smartly out the door. For a second Gabe leered after her. Then his kind demeanor dropped.

"Listen, _punk_ ," said Gabe, leaning over Percy, "you better not pull a stunt like this again. It cost us a lot for you to be here. Do you realize that I am _unemployed?_ That _means_ , _kiddo_ , I do not have money to spend on this sort of junk. Now don't let it happen again, or else…"

Gabe's hand twitched as though it itched to hit something. Then he turned and strode out of the room, leaving his threat hanging in the air.

* * *

 **A/N: Three weeks. It's been three. FREAKING. weeks. I'm am so so sorry. December has been chaotic. Please don't kill me. Extra long chapter to make up for it?**

 **OMG! 100 FOLLOWS! OMG OMG OMG THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH, I WANT TO HUG EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU GUYS, YES EVEN YOU, PERSON WHO DOESN'T LIKE HUGS STANDING IN THAT CORNER OVER THERE! *hugs* I love you all so freaking much and thank you sooooo much for following and I love reading your reviews! Ooh, yeah and so many reviews, thank you soooo much! Can you do that again?**

 **Anyways, now that I'm (almost) on Xmas break, I can update more often. I'll try and update a couple times during the break. Sorry for hurting you guys with my story. I agree, I am a terrible person. *laughs manically* Anyways, buh-bye, see you all soon.**

 **-GGW**


	12. Shattered Glass

Annabeth struggled towards the next bar, her hand inching forwards. Her small, button nose was screwed up in concentration, her tongue poking out between her round, pink lips. As she swung, she glanced down at Percy with a grin. "Look at me, Percy! I can do all the monkey bars!"

Percy clapped his hands as Annabeth swung from bar to bar, her youthful, round face red with concentration. He watched in slight awe. He had never managed to master the monkey bars, though it was a skill he had always admired.

The two continued to laugh playfully as Annabeth moved agilely from bar to bar. Neither of them noticed the unfriendly eyes that watched them, darkening the sunny recess. But after a moment, they both felt the presence of the eyes, and turned almost simultaneously, Annabeth still dangling from the rusty red monkey bars.

"Sloan," she said, muscles tense. "What do you want?"

Matt Sloan, the class bully smirked at them, evidently trying to look cool. "Look at that. It's sissy Jackson, playing with a girl again! When are you gonna dump your little girlfriend, and get some real friends, Jackson?"

Percy scowled. He hated Matt Sloan. A rather small, porky boy with evil, beady black eyes, he shouldn't have ruled the school the way he did. But he made friends with the big tough kids, the ones that looked much too old to be fifth graders.

"Annabeth's my friend!" retorted Percy.

Annabeth finally released her iron grip on the cold metal of the monkey bars. She stalked across the dusty pebbles to Matt. She looked ready to slap him. "Don't talk about my friends that way, Sloan. _Rude._ "

Matt laughed, though it sounded a bit forced. "He's even got his girlfriend sticking up for him! What's the matter? Are you scared to fight your own fights? Need a girl to protect you?"

"No I don't!" yelled Percy.

"It's as much my fight as his!" said Annabeth indignantly.

Matt walked towards Percy until their faces were only a few inches apart.

"I don't why you hang out with girls, Percy Jackson. They're stupid. _You're_ stupid. You can't even read very good!"

 _"_ _You're an idiot, boy! Don't you know that? Can't you tell? You're going nowhere in life! You can barely read, barely write…how do expect to have a life?"_

"I don't know why you even have any friends at all…"

 _"…_ _Why anyone would love a brat like you is a mystery to me! Children are worthless, dirty creatures. Especially you, punk. Worthless piece of…"_

Matt came closer, shoving his finger into Percy's chest with an sickly grin on his face, apparently under the impression that _his_ words were that ones that hurt.

"Should I make you a list? Let me see, dumb, boring, stupid…" his words were punctuated with repeated pokes.

 _"_ _YOU'RE A STUPID…" slap! "…WORTHLESS…"_ _slap! "DAMN IMBECILE OF A BOY!"_

Percy stumbled away from Matt Sloan, alarm etched into his features. He could feel the bruises and cuts stinging like they were fresh. He could see a shadow of the cruelty he always saw in Gabe's eyes in those of the young boy in front of him. The boy sneered, unaware of Percy's thoughts.

Without a word, Percy turned and bolted across the school yard. Annabeth and Matt blinked after him.

"Percy?" Annabeth called. "PERCY! WAIT!" she turned to Matt Sloan, and slapped him hard across the face. Then without watching as he stumbled back in surprise, she turned to follow Percy.

Her shoes slapped across the pavement, her golden curls bobbing desperately as she ran, trying to hold the tears of frustration in. Finally, she caught Percy, who was slowing, realising there was nowhere to run. She grabbed his arm and turned him roughly around to face her.

" _PERCY! What. Is. Going. On?"_

Annabeth stared at Percy, cocking her head to take in his bizarre posture. Her arm was raised slightly, as though she may hit someone. Her voice, too, was raised. And Percy was wincing away from her, as though she was about to smack him. Frozen in place, Annabeth stared over at her outstretched hand. She analyzed each little finger. Then she looked up, matching the shape of each finger to the long, thin bruises on Percy's neck. Her hand snapped shut into a fist.

Slowly, Annabeth lowered her fist, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palm. Percy's posture straightened. Annabeth slowly brought her hands to her mouth, a horrified expression crossing her face.

"Oh. Oh _no_."

Tears sprung to her startlingly grey eyes, and began to trickle down her crimson cheeks. And slowly, the puzzle pieces fell into place. The way Percy shied away from her hand though she would never hurt him. The way those bruises and scratches that Percy said were nothing fit together in a way that nothing else could. He'd been distant and gloomy; he had seemed sad when he should have been happy. And he was always scared. It all fit. The tears fell faster from Annabeth's eyes. Percy stood frozen in front of her, watching helplessly as the truth dawned in her eyes.

And just like that, the lies of the past few months shattered like glass, the icy shards of jagged truth ready to slice into the soft, unknowing flesh of anyone who threatened to brush past them. Annabeth could feel the truth cutting into her like those millions of tiny shards.

"Annabeth…" fear trickled once more into his hesitant voice.

"It's _him_ , isn't it," Annabeth spoke in barely a whisper, her hands still over her mouth. "You haven't been being clumsy. I was suspicious, but… It was him all along!" her voice was beginning to rise towards hysteria. " _Why?_ Why didn't you tell me Percy?!"

"Annabeth…please…"

"How could you keep this to yourself?" whispered Annabeth despairing.

Percy looked near tears. "Annabeth, please, you can't tell anyone. _No one!"_

"But Percy…"

The tears began to flow then. "They'll come to my house. They'll take… _him_ away, but they'll take my mom too. They might separate us. I may never see her again. I…I may never see _you_ again, Annie. Please, Annie, you can't tell anyone…I don't want them to take me…"

Annabeth was shaking her head slowly, horrified at the events unfolding. She took a slow step back. "Percy… I can't _not_ tell anyone…"

"You can't! You can't tell anyone! You have to promise, Annie!" Percy sobbed. "Promise! Please!"

"I…"

"Please…"

Annabeth swallowed. Then she opened her mouth and shut it again. Then she swallowed one last time. When she spoke at last, it was barely audible. "Promise."

* * *

 **A/N: So I- *dodges bullet* -wanted to- *holds up shield* –say– *casts _protego_ * -sorry. I know I am about to be killed by you for that. And probably for all of the chapters following. Damn it. If you're not too busy killing me, would you mind dropping me a review? Or maybe even checking out my newest oneshot _Wish Upon a Star_. I promise it ends very happily.**

 **Anyways, I will (hopefully) update again soon, with more of this stuff that makes you call me 'despicable'. :)  
**

 **Oh yeah and sorry this chapter's so short. :)  
**

 **GGW**


	13. Hidden Bruises

Annabeth sighed, turning over and pulling her covers over her head. It was early morning and she was trying hard to sleep, but an obnoxious tapping noise somewhere outside her window was keeping her awake.

"Go away," she mumbled into her pillow.

After a moment, with a sigh of defeat, Annabeth stood up and walked over to the window, prepared to chase away whatever was making the noise. With a sharp gasp, she leapt back, her hands leaping to her mouth. Percy was sitting outside her window in a tree, tapping carefully on the window with the end of a stick. He had a black eye and scrape running down the side of his face, but he was grinning. Annabeth rushed over to the window and shoved it open.

"Percy!" she hissed. "What are you doing? What are you doing _here_?" she glanced over at the clock. "It's six a.m.!"

Percy gave her a half-hearted, lopsided grin. "I know. But I had to get out of my house. Gabe…" he grimaced and stopped.

Annabeth nodded. "But won't he notice you're gone?"

"He thinks I'm at school."

Annabeth gave him a funny look. "It's six a.m.!" she repeated.

"I know. But he was too drunk to realize that. And I left a note for my mom."

Percy had horrible, messy writing that was barely legible, but Annabeth decided not to mention that.

Annabeth smiled hesitantly, and opened the window wider, extending her arm to the boy in the tree. He took it and clambered into her room. They stared at each other for a second.

"Well?" asked Annabeth. "What should we _do?"_

Percy pointed to the ugly purple bruise on his cheek. "You could help me cover this up."

"I don't have makeup."

"Does your step-mom have make up?"

"Well…yes…but I don't see how…" she made the mistake of glancing over at Percy, who was making puppy dog eyes. She groaned. "Fine. I'll try and get some. You stay here. Don't make any noise or we'll _both_ be in huge trouble."

Without another word, Annabeth turned and stole out of her room, her footfalls light as snow. She carefully tiptoed down the hall and into the room where her dad and step-mother were sleeping. She crept through the dark room and over to the fancy, on-suite bathroom they kept immaculate. There was just enough light so Annabeth could see, and she rummaged silently through the cupboard until she found a small bottle of skin coloured liquid-y stuff she thought was called foundation. After a short moment of contemplation, she snatched up the powder she was sure went with it, and carefully closing the cabinet door, fled from the room.

"This better be worth it," she told Percy as she dumped her stolen good **s** onto the bed. Percy grinned at her.

She picked up the foundation bottle and squinted at the tiny writing on it. "I think I'm supposed to put this stuff on first."

Percy cocked his head at her. "I thought that girls were supposed to know those things."

Annabeth scowled. "That's a stereotype."

"What's a type of stereo?"

With a Kleenex and a messy hand, Annabeth smudged the funny skin-liquid across Percy's cheek. Then she poured some of the powdery stuff into her hand and patted it onto Percy's face. Percy coughed and Annabeth shushed him, giggling. Within a few minutes the deed was done, and the two stood at the mirror admiring Annabeth's clumsy handiwork.

"I can't see the bruise at all!" gasped Percy. "It must be magic!"

"Is the makeup too noticeable?" asked Annabeth worriedly.

Percy peered closer at his replica in the mirror, looking slightly confused. "I don't think so…"

The two spent the next couple of hours talking and giggling in whispers. When Frederick came to wake up Annabeth in the morning, Annabeth leapt into bed, pulling the covers over her head just as the door opened. Percy dove underneath the bed until Frederick was gone and the second he walked out the door Percy and Annabeth dissolved into another fit of giggles.

After Annabeth smuggled Percy a piece of toast from the breakfast table, he slowly backed out again through the window and back down the tree he had climbed a few hours earlier. Then he stood at the corner of the street like he did every Tuesday and Thursday, waiting for Annabeth. She showed up twenty minutes later, jogging bouncily towards him in clean clothes and her hair brushed so it looked frizzier than its normal bouncy curls. A small blue backpack heavy with books was slung across her shoulder. Percy had not thought to grab his backpack when he left the house that morning, but Annabeth reassured him she would happily lend him a pencil.

The school day flew by in a flash of hours and colours. During lunch time Annabeth gave Percy half of her sandwich, and they sat in a secluded corner of the school yard in the glowing green shadow of the tall tree that sat above them. They talked about summer; plans, hopes and dreams for the months of sunshine.

"Are you nervous to switch schools?" asked Annabeth, throwing one rotten grape so that it bounced across the pavement of the track that bordered the field at the back of the school.

"I don't know," said Percy thoughtfully. "We've spent the last six years getting to the highest grade of elementary school, and now we're going to go off to middle school and be on the very bottom again. It seems a bit weird to me

Annabeth nodded. "I know. At least this time it'll only take us three years to get to the top. And I think it'll be fun to get new teachers and make new friends. But…it also seems like a new era of our lives, y'know?"

"I know."

No one at school seemed to notice the carefully hidden bruises on Percy's face. Perhaps Annabeth's make-up skills had been adequate enough to keep them secret. Or maybe no one cared enough to look closely. Either way, the day went smoothly and before long, Percy and Annabeth were trotting happily along home.

"Come to my house today, Annie," Percy told her.

Annabeth hesitated. She didn't want to go to Percy's house. But she couldn't let him go back there alone. Not now. "Okay."

It was funny how things had changed. She used to love going to Percy's. It had been her escape from home, from her step mother, her dad and her slimy, noisy baby step brothers. Nowadays it seemed more like a prison. Somewhere she was forced to go. She knew she wouldn't go there for anyone but Percy.

After pushing all of the buttons in the elevator and passing every floor, Percy pushed the door to his apartment open and the two stepped in. Annabeth gasped. Somehow, she had always managed to avoid coming over when the place was in bad shape, Sally always cleaned it up before she arrived. So, for the first time she was seeing it in all of its horrible glory. Even to Percy it looked worse than usual. More beer cans then ever were strewn across the floor, which was covered in dirt and muck. The couches and carpets were in horrible condition and the place smelled horrible. Gabe lay passed out on the couch. He had truly taken over.

Annabeth was tempted to run then and there. To leave to horrible apartment and drag Percy with her, bring him to her house and keep him safe there. But she knew Percy would never agree. He was too loyal. He would never leave his mother.

"C'mon," said Percy, wincing slightly as he picked his way through the mess, "let's go get a cookie."

Annabeth followed him into the kitchen. She blinked. Unlike the rest of the apartment, the kitchen was spotless, obviously Sally's domain. She seemed to have decided that if she couldn't keep the rest of the house clean, she should at least keep the kitchen that way. Annabeth glanced around as Percy climbed onto a counter and pulled out a bag of chocolaty cookies from a cupboard with a shiny handle. He tossed the bag down to Annabeth, and they sat down at the table, both grabbing several cookies.

"Why don't we go outside and play?" suggested Annabeth a minute later, licking the leftover cookie crumbs off of her fingers.

Percy nodded in agreement. The two crept slowly out of the kitchen and past Gabe. They were almost at the door when Annabeth's elbow brushed against a flower vase full of wilted flowers, knocking it to the ground with a loud crash.

Annabeth froze as Percy glanced back at her, terrified. On the couch, Gabe shifted and sat up, rubbing his eyes with a grimy hand and scowling.

"Hey punk! What'd you do that for? Woke me up from my nap." His eyes narrowed towards Annabeth. "Brought your little girlfriend I see. What're you up to? Gonna squeal on me? If you squeal on me you're gonna regret it, punk!"

Gabe's voice raised to a yell within the few seconds he spoke. He pushed himself from the couch and strode over to Percy, a threating hand held out. Percy winced back visibly, and on instinct, Annabeth leapt in front of him, shielding him with trembling arms.

"Interesting," said Gabe. He lunged at Annabeth, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck and pinning her against the wall. Annabeth screamed loudly, squirming and kicking her legs against Gabe. He clapped a grubby hand against her mouth, and her eyes widened in shock and disgust as she continued to squirm. "Sticking up for the wimp, eh? Well let me tell you, girl, don't you dare interfere. Don't you dare interfere with what's none of your business! It's rude and disgusting and if you do you will regret it. Horrible child."

Annabeth bit down hard on the hand covering her mouth. Gabe let out a horrible bellow of pain and slapped her hard across the face, leaving a trail of his own blood across her rosy cheek.

"No!" screamed Percy, unfreezing from where he stood and running towards Gabe. Before Gabe could react, Percy kicked him hard in the crotch. Gabe let out a yell and dropped Annabeth, collapsing with pain. Annabeth was on her feet in a second, and Percy grabbed her arm, yanking her out the door and slamming in behind him. They ran down the stairs three at a time and in a second they were standing in the playground outside the apartment building, panting.

Annabeth's eyes were wide and her cheeks were flushed a bright red, smeared with Gabe's blood. She turned slowly to Percy, who cringed under her gaze.

"Annabeth, I'm so sorry, I…"

" _Why_ Percy? _Why_ are you keeping this a secret?!

"Annabeth please…please keep your voice…"

"Percy this is _insane_ you could end all of this in a second and instead you're…"

"Shhhhhh, someone might hear, they might…"

"What if I don't _care_ , Percy? This was horrible when it was just you involved. Now I'm involved in this whole thing too! You really can't keep this a secret, you can't, you can't— "

"YES I CAN AND I HAVE TO! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?"

Annabeth took a long deep breath. Percy looked on the verge of tears again. "No, Percy. I don't understand. I don't get it. Why can't you tell someone all of this? You know you could end it all with one word. Why?"

Percy stared sadly at her. "I know how it works. One of those societies that are supposed to help kids would come and take me far away, probably to some relative I don't even _know_ and I would never see you or my mom again!"

Annabeth dug her hands into her hair, a wild expression in her eyes. "But…Child Protective Services…they would…yes at first they would…but your mom…she's innocent…they'd give her back…"

Percy bit his lip and stared at her. She could see the unshed tears swimming in his eyes. "Can you tell me with a hundred percent certainty that if I told on Gabe life would go back to normal? That I would live happily with my mom and we would hang out every day? That I wouldn't be sent to live with some strange relative in Canada?"

Annabeth opened her mouth. Then she shut it again. Then she opened again, but no sound came out. Percy looked away from her, determined to hide the tears. "That's what I thought."

Annabeth finally found her voice again. "But…"

Percy turned his head quickly and looked her in the eyes. "Annabeth, do you love me?"

Annabeth turned beet red and for a moment could do nothing but splutter incoherently. Then patches of pink flushed on Percy's cheeks too, and he said, mortified, "Not like that!"

For a moment everything was forgotten and Annabeth let out a giggle. Percy cracked a smile too. But the icy mood washed back in, wiping the smiles off their faces.

"As a friend," said Percy, straightening. "Do you love me as a friend?"

Annabeth nodded. "Of course I do, Perce. You're my very best friend. I love you best in the world."

Percy grabbed her hands. "Then you won't tell anyone. If you love me then you won't tell anyone."

Annabeth hesitated. "But…"

"You promised, Annie! You promised. I didn't think you were one to break a promise."

Annabeth knew she was trapped. "Okay, but…"

"Thank you Annabeth!" cried Percy squeezing her in a hug and burying his head in her shoulder.

They stood like that for a moment, clinging to each other like they would never let go. Like they would die if they did.

After a minute, Annabeth extracted herself from the hug. "Aright…I…I promise. But I'm never going back in that house. You know that?" she pointed a warning finger at Percy.

He sighed sadly. "I know. But…I better get back. I don't want to be in even worse trouble for leaving. I…I'll see you." Without another backwards glace, Percy ran into the apartment. Annabeth watched his retreating back. Had she done the right thing? She had. She must have. She promised. Her father had told her never to break a promise. And this wasn't just any promise…it was Percy who she had promised, Percy who she wouldn't betray for the world.

With a small, shaky sigh, Annabeth wiped the leftover blood off her cheek, which was starting to swell. She would tell her dad she had gotten hit by a basketball at recess. She turned, and started her tired trek home.

The next day, Percy Jackson didn't show up at school

* * *

 **A/N: Annnnnd scene. Cliffie cliffie ahhhh don't kill me. Despite my horrible ending (sorry not sorry) I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know, I know it's been a while. You see, I have this life I tend to live, and sometimes it gets in the way of the important things like FanFiction. I will try very hard to update again really soon, though, barbecue I am sooo excited to write the next chapter. That is where we will have the first mini climax. Nervous? You should be. XD**

 **On an unrelated note, do you guys think you get me to 100 reviews by the next chapter? Because that would just be the best thing in the universe...and don't you want a happy writer? And thank you so so much to the people who review almost every chapter! I love you guys and you can't imagine how much it means to me!**

 **Anyways, until later!**

 **-GGW**


	14. Falling to Pieces

The door swung open. Annabeth's heart leapt, and then sank back to the floor as a small, mousy boy scurried through the doorway and over to his seat. Annabeth stared hard at the door. She had waited for Percy at the corner for twenty minutes. When he hadn't showed up she had continued on the school, a nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was now staring at the door. In any second Percy would walk in. He had too. She glanced up at the cheap plastic clock that sat above the door and let out a nervous breath between her teeth. Percy Jackson was never late. Well he was, but not for school. Never for school.

The door shut with a snap, and Annabeth jumped. The teacher sent her an annoyed little smile. She realized she had been staring at the exit blankly for the past ten minutes. With a sigh she straitened her books on the desk that seemed unusually empty without its other occupant, and tried to focus on the teacher.

The minutes ticked by. By ten o'clock, Annabeth was sure Percy wasn't coming. She could feel her stomach twisting with nervousness and looked up at the clock every few minutes. It seemed to be broken, the way the hands barely moved.

"Annabeth, do you need to go to the washroom?" asked her teacher briskly, as Annabeth fidgeted nervously in her seat. Annabeth shook her head quickly, cheeks flaming. The other kids giggled.

Annabeth took a breath and stared out the window. A week ago she would have convinced herself it was fine, that Percy was just sick or something. But she couldn't. She just couldn't. The ball of nerves in her stomach told her otherwise. Gabe was a horrible man, capable of hurting a child. Annabeth just wasn't sure how far he was capable of going. Could he…could Percy…

When the recess bell rang, Annabeth was the first outside, walking around in circles, trying to breathe. A couple of boys invited her to play basketball, but she declined, leaving the boys slightly annoyed and disgruntled.

Annabeth sat down in the soft grass of the field and buried her head in her hands. She had promised. _She had promised._ She couldn't tell anyone—not a soul.

 _But what if,_ whispered a tiny voice in back of her head, _what if Percy is seriously hurt?_ What if Gabe had beaten him so badly that he couldn't move? What if Percy was…

Annabeth leaped up, trying to squash the thought out of her brain. No. _No._ It wasn't possible. She wouldn't let it happen.

It was torturous. The angry ball of nerves in Annabeth's stomach was now accompanied by a strange aching in her chest. If Percy didn't get out of this… she wasn't sure if she could live. Percy was her best friend… and if he… if it was because of her…

"Are you alright, dear?" asked a recess monitor passing by. She stared at Annabeth's pale face in confusion.

Annabeth took a few steps back, slowly shaking her head. She couldn't. She couldn't do it. She knew it then; she couldn't keep the promise that she swore so hard to keep. She didn't know where her feet were taking her as she ran across the school yard, shoving kids out of the way. She slammed through the door, only slightly aware that the same monitor was yelling after her, but she didn't care.

She banged open the office door, breathing heavily. The secretary looked up in surprise at the small girl, her hair awry and her intelligent grey eyes tortured.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Can I…can I talk to the principal?" gasped Annabeth. "Or the counsellor? Someone?"

With a slightly frightened look, the young secretary nodded and lead Annabeth through the office, until she reached a small, private office where the lady Annabeth knew to be the student counsellor sat at a desk. She looked up in surprise when the secretary came in with Annabeth. Her cool blue eyes surveyed Annabeth's pale cheeks and panicked expression.

"This young lady would like to speak with you," said the young secretary, steering Annabeth into the office by the shoulders. Annabeth gave her a tight smile of thanks, and she left without another word, shutting the door behind her with a small click.

"So," said the counsellor in a businesslike way, dusting off the surface of her desk and placing her hands crossed together in the middle, "what do you need to tell me?"

Annabeth took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. She had _promised_. She had never broken a promise to Percy in her life. She had never told one of his secrets. And this was the biggest one of all. It wasn't just something simple like Percy didn't like Brussel sprouts. This was the biggest secret Annabeth had ever held in her tiny hands.

But Percy _needed_ her. If she didn't… she couldn't bear the consequences. She was aware of the counsellor watching her with a concerned gaze. So, still staring at the ceiling, Annabeth swallowed and began to speak.

The words came out slowly, and then in a rush. Annabeth continued glaring at the ceiling, but out of the corner of her eyes she saw the counsellor's controlled face flicker with horror and shock as everything spilled out. All of the secrets came pouring out. Annabeth told it from the beginning, from Sally marrying Gabe, from what she now realized had been the first time Percy had been hit, to the bruises to a few days ago when her world had come crashing down around her. And now, the day after she had really seen who Gabe really was, Percy had gone back inside his house nervous of what awaited him, and now he was gone. Annabeth was terrified

The counsellor stared at her when she finished, watching her take deep, shaky breaths until she calmed just a bit, her hysterical breaths creeping back down to normal. Then she took action.

"You did the right thing in telling me," she assured Annabeth, patting her arm and picking up the phone with the other hand.

"Wha-what are you doing?" whispered Annabeth.

The counsellor gave Annabeth a sad look. "I'm calling the police, dear."

Annabeth gave a her a heartbroken glance. Something deep in the gunmetal irises looked fractured. "But I promised."

The counsellor put down the phone and put both of her hands over Annabeth's. "Some promises have to be broken. You did the right thing in telling me. You may have just saved a little boy's life."

Annabeth swallowed and nodded, but it didn't ease the guilt that squeezed her heart like a vise. She had told her secret. She had betrayed Percy's trust.

"Hello, yes…I'd like to report a child abuse…"

Annabeth leapt to her feet, knocking the chair over. She couldn't stay here and listen to the story be repeated all over again. She _needed_ to find Percy.

She bolted to the door and threw it open.

"Annabeth!" called the counsellor. "Annabeth wait a moment…"

"NO!" screamed Annabeth. "I can't wait a moment. I _have_ to find Percy! MY BEST FRIEND COULD BE _DEAD_!" She winced away from the words the second they came out of her mouth. And then she was running, her feet flying across the tiles. Somewhere behind her the counsellor was yelling to let her go.

There was a painful stich in Annabeth's side as her shoes slapped on the sidewalk. Someone was shouting after her but she didn't stop. She couldn't. Not now.

After a few more minutes, her breath came in quick gasps and her whole side was squeezed in pain, but she continued. Her feet slammed into the pavement, sending shocks up her legs. She was fast, but not as fast as the sirens screeching behind her. They whizzed past her, three police trucks, an ambulance… Annabeth was weak with exertion, but the sight of the ambulance pushed her over the edge. She moved faster than she ever had in her life.

When she reached finally finished retracing the steps of the worn path to Percy's apartment complex, the police cars were already there, lights flashing. The neighbors were looking out their windows in shock and fear, the bolder ones running towards the commotion.

The doors of the shiny police cars were flung open, and the policemen were nowhere in sight, probably inside the building. Annabeth finally came to a stop, struggling to bring air into her lungs as her heart pounded wildly.

For a moment, the street was filled with an eerie silence as the Annabeth waited. The minutes ticked by, each second like an hour. Annabeth's breath was crawling back towards normal.

Then the first shout came. Annabeth recognized Gabe's voice immediately, and her breath hitched again as she took an involuntary step back. The shouting grew louder. Annabeth winced as Gabe was led out of the building. He looked grotesque, his already ugly features marred with fury, spit flying as he screamed every curse word known to man. He whipped out a small, sharp knife and pointed it desperately at the policemen, going back in forth between the two. Annabeth watched in horror as one reacted on instinct, quickly yanking out a pistol from his belt. Gabe turned slowly with his knife. Then he caught sight of Annabeth. His beady eyes narrowed.

"You."

Annabeth backed up, terror in her eyes.

"It was _you_. The annoying little girlfriend. I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN RID OF YOU WHILE I WAS AHEAD!" He lunged for her with his knife, and she let out a terrified scream. Just as his knife sliced into the soft skin of her cheek, there was a crack like a firework that echoed up and down the street as everyone stared. It reverberated away into the silence. Annabeth hid her eyes behind her shaking hands as Gabe's body fell at her feet with a dull thud, resonating alongside the crack of the bullet. Annabeth turned away, unable to watch as the policemen dragged Gabe's lifeless body across the pavement and pulled it into the car.

She didn't see the policeman leading a weak and disheveled Sally from the building. Her cheeks were lined with bruises and she was limping. Sally stared at the pool of blood on the ground and tried to reach for the tiny, shaking blonde girl that still stood unmoving beside it. The police man yanked her back, helping her into the back of the ambulance.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" a kind-looking policewoman with a light Scottish accent asked, looking sadly down at Annabeth.

Annabeth stared blankly at the ambulance that was now pulling out, flying away with the sirens fading off into the distance. Sally was in there, the mother of her best friend in the world and the mother Annabeth hadn't had for years. "I—I'm fine," she lied.

"This cut isn't too bad, but you should go to the hospital to get it cleaned," the lady said. "Can you tell me your mom or dad's phone number?"

"Um, yeah, my dad's phone number is…" Annabeth recited it numbly, not knowing or caring what would happen next.

The policewoman stood up and sent Annabeth a reassuring smile before taking out her phone and dialing her dad's number. As soon as she had turned her back, Annabeth stood up.

She knew what she had to do. Percy was still missing. He couldn't be in the apartment, or they would have taken him, too.

Annabeth's eyes lingered on the pool of blood. She was in shock. She had seen the man with that blood minutes before, when it had still been in his brain, coursing with adrenaline and anger. Now it was spilled on the ground, creeping its tendrils across the pavement. Annabeth took a step back, her hand lingering on her cheek. It was spurting its own blood now, thick and hot and red, but yesterday that blood had been on her cheek too.

As Gabe's blood inched towards her shoes, threating to turn the white tops of the converse red, Annabeth snapped out of her retrieve. She didn't know where she was going as, but she ran, away from the blood and away from the scene of the crime she wished she had never witnessed. She _had_ to find Percy.

After a few minutes, she found herself in the park that they had loved, sitting under their favourite tree with her head buried in her hands.

The tears didn't come quite yet; instead, she watched the blood dance in front of her eyes. The blood on the pavement, the blood Annabeth knew that she would never be able to forget. She was still shaking. She wasn't sure if she would ever stop.

For what felt like hours she sat, unmoving.

"Annabeth!"

Her head snapped up out of her hands and the bright sunlight blinded her as she leapt to her feet. There was Percy, safe and sound and _alive_ , running towards her. But as he came closer she noticed his features for the first time. His face was so bloody and bruised it looked almost purple and it was stained with tear tracks. But his eyes were what broke Annabeth. Tortured and horrified and _betrayed_.

"Percy…" whispered Annabeth, reaching out one quivering hand.

Percy winced back, pain etched into his every feature. He stared at the cut on her cheek. "That's—that's from him, isn't it? I can't—if I had never told you—it's my fault isn't it?"

"Percy, no…"

"Mine…" he murmured. Then he looked back up at Annabeth. "You promised, Annie. You—you _promised_."

"But Percy, look…"

"I thought I could trust you…I—I never thought that you…you would betray me. You broke your promise."

"Percy please, I couldn't…"

"You couldn't what? Keep a promise? Keep me with my mother? Keep me with my _best friend?_ Why Annabeth? You _promised!_ You _never_ break a promise! Why—"

"Because I _couldn't do it_ , Percy!" Annabeth shouted. "I couldn't _stand_ it anymore! Do you know how it feels – to watch your _best_ friend, someone who you love be hurt again and again and know that you can't. Do. _Anything_ about it? I _couldn't_ _do_ _it_. And if you had died today…." Percy winced back at the word, but Annabeth was too far gone. "IF YOU HAD _DIED_ TODAY I COULD NEVER HAVE EVER LIVED WITH MYSELF." She was breathing heavily now and tears were starting to drip down her cheeks. "If you had died _, I would have died too_."

Percy stared at her in shock, the heartbreak clear across his face. For a moment Annabeth thought that she had convinced him. That he would understand that it had been something that she had _had_ to do.

Percy took a slow step back. Shaking his head, he took another… and another. Annabeth reached her hand out, trying to get to the boy she was losing.

Percy shook his head slowly. Annabeth could see the shattered pieces of his life reflected in the sea-green irises she knew so well. "You promised. You promised. You promised that you would _never, ever_ tell. YOU PROMISED, ANNABETH. YOU PROMISED THAT YOU WOULDN'T TELL. I HATE YOU, ANNABETH CHASE! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD _NEVER_ TELL!"

"Percy…" sobbed Annabeth.

His head was still shaking in the same scared, robotic movement. "No. I can't. You broke your promise. I'm never going to speak to you again."

Percy turned and ran, leaving Annabeth in the grass with tears streaming down her face.

"PERCY!" she screamed, so loudly that she thought that her vocal chords would rip out, so loudly that she thought her lungs would burst and her heart would shatter into a million tiny shards of glass.

 _He didn't turn._

And her heart ripped out of her chest.

"Percy…" she whispered, her legs collapsing. She fell to her knees in the grass and her head dropped, tears hitting the ground. Her nails dug into the soft flesh of her hands, cutting tiny slits into the skin.

She stayed frozen for a full minute, nothing but the tiny drip of tears hitting the grass in her ears. Then she was on her feet, running again, her crazy blond curls streaming behind her, her tears dotting the pavement.

She slammed though the front door of her house and bolted past her shocked step mother, flying up the stairway and sprinkling the carpet with drops of tears and blood.

Annabeth ran into her room and slammed the door, collapsing onto her soft bed. Then it all came pouring out. After a moment, she sat up and uselessly wiping away tears with her hand, she wiggled the small plastic ring with the shiny red plastic gemstone off her thumb where it had sat since Percy gave it to her.

 _As long as we're best friends,_ he had said. She threw it across the room, where it bounced off the wall and dropped like a stone to the floor, the small sound echoing like a gong. Then she threw herself back down on her bed and cried until her eyes were dry and her throat was hoarse.

When the sobs had finally stopped, she felt hollow. Everything had fallen to pieces so quickly.

But Gabe was dead, and no matter how much he hated her, Percy was safe.

Annabeth wiped away the last of her tears from her raw cheeks, wincing as her hand brushed across the gash Gabe had placed on her cheek. Then she stood on shaky legs and crawled across the floor to where she knew her tiny ring had landed. It teetered on the edge of the vent, prepared to topple and be lost forever at the slightest notice. Annabeth picked it up carefully, inspecting it. There was a long crack across the small red gem, but otherwise it looked fine, the same as it had the day Percy had pulled it out of the gumball machine.

She cradled in her hands as she walked over to the jewelry box on her dresser. She slipped the ring into the small cushion designed for rings, and gave it a small sad smile. She would save it. Just in case.

She hesitated for one last second, staring at the last remaining evidence of a friendship Annabeth knew she would never recover.

The jewelry box slammed shut.

 **END OF PART ONE**

* * *

 **A/N: So...hey people. Yes I am a horrible person. But also yes that chapter was completely necessary, despite your objections to Percy and Annabeth losing their friendship. After all, the point in the later chapters is gonna have to be that they rebuild it...and if everything went back to normal after Gabe that just wouldn't happen, would it? Oh and if you're wondering why I put end of part one...no reason really. I just felt like dividing this story into 'parts'. It won't change anything.**

 **HUGE shout out to my amazing friend Rachel (TheWritingManiac), who stayed up with me until 2 am writing. We both finished chapters/stories, and I urge you to go read her new one:** _Give me your hand (there's mayonnaise in your hair)_ **She also unofficially betaed this chapter for me, and I am sure it wouldn't have been half as good without her.**

 **And finally, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME REACH 100 REVIEWS THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST THING EVER. I wish I thank every one of you in person. If you wouldn't mind leaving me a review and telling me what you thought of the chapter that would be just lovely.  
**

 **Happy I finally killed Gabe?**

 **-GGW**


	15. Red Sweater

**PART 2 : ADOLESCENCE**

Annabeth ran her slightly shaking hands down the rough material of her skirt again, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. She _really_ hated the skirt. It was the colour and texture of an ugly curtain one would see in their grandma's living room, and Annabeth thought it both felt and looked horrible. But it had been a gift from her stepmother for the first day of school. She had claimed it looked adorable on Annabeth, and Annabeth had only worn it so as not to upset her father.

She was sure if anyone from school saw her wearing it she would die from embarrassment.

 _I don't even_ wear _skirts_ , Annabeth thought in disgust. She wasn't sure how she could be wearing anything worse for the first day of middle school.

"Annabeth!"

Her head snapped up and she met her father's stern gaze across the table.

"Stop fidgeting and eat your breakfast. You don't want to be late."

With a sigh, Annabeth picked up her fork and picked at her eggs some more. Her backpack was stashed at the bottom of her chair for a quick getaway after she finished eating.

It was the end of what had been the longest summer of Annabeth's life. She couldn't remember ever wishing to go back to school more than she did now. She had spent almost the entire summer in the company of no one but her two annoying little step-brothers, who both thought it was hilarious to run up behind her, make loud fart noises and run away laughing loudly. Annabeth had put up with it one too many times when she snapped, slamming her book shut in their faces and yelling at them.

Of course, all that did was land her unable to leave the house for a week.

As annoying as they were, her little step-brothers weren't the worst part of Annabeth's summer. She had lost count of how many times she had picked up the phone and dialed Percy's number before remembering they were no longer friends. For hours on end, she sat her window and stared at the tree that Percy had once climbed to sneak into her bedroom, wondering if he would ever climb it again. She wished she could wake up and see his grin outside the window.

Annabeth had done a lot of walking that summer. She roamed around and around the neighborhood, until she knew every street and every house. And every time she passed Percy's apartment complex, she would clench her fists and stare down at the ground, resisting the urge to run in and demand their friendship back. But she knew she couldn't. She had too much pride.

"I'm done." Annabeth pushed her barely touched plate away and slipped out of her chair, picking her backpack up and swinging it over her shoulder. "I'll see you, dad."

He smiled at her distractedly, as though he was plotting something in his mind and not sparing much of his attention to her. "Have a good day, sweetheart."

Annabeth nodded, lips pressed together in a sad smile, and slipped quietly out the front door, closing it behind her with a bang. After she had walked a few feet she slipped into a bush and unzipped her backpack, pulling out a pair of little cutoff jean shorts. She slipped them on under her skirt and then pulled the skirt off, stuffing in into her backpack, pushing it down to the bottom where no one could see it. With a small grin of triumph, she swung her backpack onto her slim shoulder and continued on her way to school, her fists clenched in defiance.

Thanks to her lonely summer, Annabeth had learned every street in her neighborhood by heart and hardly looked up as she walked, choosing instead to stare at her feet as they lead her down the street and around the corner. As she trudged around the curve, she glanced up and froze in her tracks.

There was Percy, coming round the corner opposite to her. It was right there, in the center of the little cross street between those two corners that Percy and Annabeth had met every other day for five years.

Thankfully, Percy wasn't looking at her. He was laughing at something behind him. Annabeth almost started towards him, determined once and for all to get her best friend back, but she stopped again when another boy followed Percy around the corner, chuckling along with him.

Annabeth stared. She and Percy had always sort of been loners, neither of them really had any friends other than each other. But apparently that hadn't really meant anything.

Apparently, Annabeth could be replaced at the drop of a hat.

Percy didn't even glance at her as he continued walking down the street with his new friend. They were laughing over some joke Annabeth hadn't heard. She noticed, her heart slowly feeling cold, that they both looked _happy_. Percy especially – she hadn't seen him this way since before his mom married Smelly Gabe.

Annabeth didn't get it. She had spent her entire summer doing basically nothing, but apparently Percy's summer hadn't been that way. She had heard some of the story through the neighborhood grapevine—Percy had been sent to stay with some relatives for a while, but when his mother had been cleared of all charges they moved back into their old apartment, (though apparently they were looking for a new one) and life had gone on. Now Percy had a new best friend.

After a moment, Annabeth realized she had been standing frozen on the corner for several minutes. She took a shaky breath and shook out her hands, which she hadn't realized she was clenching. Her palms had tiny red crescent indents from her nails. Furiously she brushed away the tears that gathered in her eyes and wet her lashes, blurring her vision.

With a deep, rattling breath, Annabeth shook herself out of her retrieve and continued on to school. Her sense of new beginnings and fresh starts had been wiped clean from her mind. She was stuck in the dust of her ex-best friend, and she walked all the way to her new school half a block behind him and his new friend.

As Annabeth walked she examined the new boy from behind. From what she could see, he was small and mousy, with a mop of floppy red curls and a funny limp. But Annabeth could tell from the way he walked that he, too, was happy. She stared at her feet and tried to feel glad that Percy had a new friend.

Only once did Percy look back at her, turning his head on instinct as people do when there's someone behind them. For a moment, their eyes met, watery grey and laughing sea-green.

They met each other almost twelve years ago. She learned how to read those baby-seal eyes at the same time she learned how to read the alphabet. But before she could really read the expression in his blue-green irises, he turned away and continued talking to his new friend.

 _As if he's never seen me before. As if I'm was just another stranger walking to school._

Annabeth stared at the sky and blinked hard. Had he really forgotten her so soon?

She had always imagined walking to her first day of middle school with Percy by her side…they had done everything together, they probably would even have gotten lost together.

Annabeth pulled out the map of the school that had come through the mail a few days ago and studied it. Her homeroom was on the second floor; she could go through the side door on the east side of the school.

Annabeth was so absorbed in her map that she didn't notice that she had veered off the path. She suddenly hit something hard, lost her balance, and fell backwards into the grass.

Disgruntled, Annabeth sat up, blew the windblown curls out of her mouth and stared angrily up at the tree she had walked into. Someone passing by was laughing at her. Her cheeks burning, Annabeth struggled to get to her feet, but was unbalanced by her heavy binder-filled backpack and fell over again. The laughing intensified.

Annabeth could feel her cheeks turning red. This was _not_ a good way to start junior high.

"Here."

Annabeth looked up. Someone was holding a hand out to her. She grabbed it, and the person pulled her to her feet with surprising force. Annabeth staggered, then regained her balanced. She smiled shyly up at the boy who had helped her up. "Thanks."

He grinned. "That was pretty much the funniest thing I've seen all day. Wanted to start school with a bang, huh?"

Annabeth flushed. She was sure now by his voice that he was the one who had been laughing at her. It didn't help that he was cute. He was tall and blonde with ice-blue eyes. There was a long scar down the side of his face that Annabeth had to restrain herself from asking about.

He was grinning, his head titled to the side as though he was waiting for her to answer a question. Hoping she hadn't been staring, Annabeth shook her head clear. "Sorry, what?"

His sweetly mischievous grin grew wider. "Walk to school with me?"

Annabeth smiled back, feeling the rush of anxiety in her stomach subside, if only by a little bit. "Uh, yeah. I'd like that."

"My name is Luke," he said, like he was continuing a conversation, "I'm in seventh grade. I don't think I've seen you around. Are you new here?"

"Um, yeah," said Annabeth, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she jogged slightly to keep up with him. "I'm…I'm just starting here today. I'm in sixth grade."

"You're kidding! You seem so much older!"

Annabeth laughed. "You say that like it's a compliment. I thought only five-year-olds were flattered by being taken as older than they are."

Luke rolled his eyes with a small smile. "Yes, well…"

Annabeth unconsciously noticed how different Luke's icy-blue irises were than Percy's warm green ones. She surprised even herself by being almost… _happy_ they were different.

Luke walked Annabeth all the rest of the way to school, his lanky, athletic frame keeping stride next to her smaller one. She was delighted to have a new friend, one who she could only assume was very cool and popular—he seemed like that kind of guy. She couldn't help but stare up admiringly at him.

"Do you know where your homeroom is?" he asked, his perfect white teeth glinting in the morning sun.

"Um," Annabeth glanced down at her map again, "I think so."

"Great," said Luke, starting to walk away backwards. "Well, I'll see you around, Annabeth. It was nice meeting you!"

Annabeth smiled and waved. Then, for the first time, she climbed the steps to her brand new school.

It didn't take Annabeth long to find her homeroom—apparently she had studied her maps enough. She was at the correct room, she was sure, but for a moment she hovered outside the door, reluctant to enter. She hadn't ever dreamed of entering middle school basically friendless. How could she ever have expected not having Percy by her side?

She took a deep breath, tipped her chin up confidently, and stepped through the door.

The first thing she noticed was that the room was painted a dull grey. Brightly-colored posters hung on the walls, and almost all the desks were filled. It being the first day of school, everyone had somehow managed to get there early, so there were barely any empty spots.

Annabeth spotted Percy at the back beside his curly-haired friend, snickering about something, the little dimples in his still-round cheeks widening. She swallowed, realizing that she hadn't even known Percy would be in her homeroom.

She glanced around for a moment, trying to find somewhere to sit. Finally, she spotted an empty desk in the middle of the room, beside a girl in a red sweater who had her head down in her arms. Long, dark hair that looked like it had been cut with safety scissors was splayed across her desk.

Annabeth sat down quietly at the desk, trying not to make too much noise as she slid her backpack under the chair and pulled it closer to the small grey desk. But the girl beside her had good ears. She raised her head and grinned at Annabeth.

"Mondays, am I right?"

Annabeth stared at the girl beside her. She was a very pretty girl, in a sort of effortless way. Although cut choppily, her chocolaty hair was soft. Her dark tan skin wasn't perfect – a little red zit sat angrily on her nose – but she was still gorgeous. Unlike many of the other girls in the room, she wore no make-up; even without it her eyes shone brightly, long eyelashes framing the eyes that swam with colours like kaleidoscopes. The multicolored irises shone brightly, changing colour whenever the girl tilted her head or blinked. She wore an adorable little smile that had the air of a girl who has no idea she's beautiful.

"I don't think Mondays should be allowed," said the girl, stretching out her red-clad arms and crossing them on the desk in front of her. She put her head down on her arms and stared over at Annabeth, her small, upturned nose twitching playfully. "I think we should go straight from Sundays to Tuesdays."

"Then you'd hate Tuesdays," Annabeth pointed out, feeling a small smile growing on her lips.

"I suppose that's true…but I can't imagine hating Tuesdays… I have violin on Tuesdays!"

Annabeth laughed. "Good reason not to hate Tuesdays. I always wished I could play a musical instrument."

The girl stared at Annabeth analytically for a moment, then spoke again. "You seem more like a piano type of person to me. You should learn how to play the piano. I should teach you how to play the piano!"

Annabeth giggled, her fears about being friendless dissipating. "I don't even know your name yet!"

"Oh—Piper. My name is Piper."

"Nice to meet you, Piper. My name is Annabeth."

Piper huffed. "That's pretty. I wish I had a cool name like that."

"Piper is a cool name!" Annabeth insisted, grinning.

"Not as cool as _Annabeth_. How can _Piper_ compare with a name like _Annabeth?_ "

"I don't think Annabeth is even a real name."

"Of course it is! You're named Annabeth!"

"True," Annabeth conceded with a little grin.

Piper cupped her heart-shaped face in her hands. The oversized sleeves of her red sweater draped past her fingertips as she asked conspiratorially, "Which boy do you think is the cutest in our class?"

"Umm…" Annabeth was taken aback. She knew the names of two people in the entire room—she certainly hadn't had the chance to check out all of the boys. But before she could answer Piper continued talking.

"I want that one." Piper pointed across the room. At least, Annabeth assumed she was pointing; she couldn't actually see her fingers.

Annabeth followed Piper's gaze across the room to a smiling boy, with light blond hair and electric blue eyes. He was laughing at something, grinning to the boy beside him, who was small and curly haired and fidgeting with a crumpled piece of paper in his hands.

Annabeth grinned, turning to her new friend. "That one?"

"So far, I know that his named is Jason and his friend's name is Leo. And if I don't have him by the end of high-school I'll give you twenty bucks."

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh. "Alright. But I'm not paying _you_ if you do get him."

"Darn," Piper's eyes twinkled. "So which one do you think is the cutest?"

Annabeth glanced around the classroom. All of the boys looked like most guys do in middle school—pimples and braces and big adorable smiles. She didn't really think any of them were cute; Piper had definitely chosen the best. Annabeth's eyes stopped at Percy as they passed him, and she couldn't help but feel a wave of jealousy as she stared at him talking to his new friend.

"That one? Percy Jackson, right?" asked Piper. "He _is_ cute."

"What?" Annabeth started. "No! I mean… I guess he is but… there's too much history there. Besides… he's never going to talk to me again anyways."

Piper gaped silently at Annabeth for a second, then shrugged and glanced back at Percy. "His friend's name is Grover. He and his dad used to live in my neighborhood." She shifted in her seat. "Percy looks…sad somehow." Her eyes flitted back to Annabeth. "Any idea why?"

Apparently Piper was incredibly good at reading emotions. Annabeth tucked that bit of information about her new friend away. "Oh! Uh... no," she stammered. "But, uh, thanks. For telling me who the other guy is."

"They're not _best_ friends," Piper said, her playful eyes turning soft as she glanced back at Annabeth. "I can tell."

* * *

"We're sitting outside today. I found the most _perfect_ little place to sit and we _have_ to sit there." Piper grabbed Annabeth's arm as soon as the lunch bell rang and dragged her to their shared locker. The sixth graders, the lowest class at the school, had to share lockers, because there somehow weren't enough to cover all the grades. Piper had insisted that Annabeth share her locker the first day of school, and they had been best friends ever since.

Well, _almost_ best friends. Annabeth vowed that she would never let anyone take Percy's place. But if anyone could even be close to what she and Percy had once been it was Piper.

The first month of school had breezed by for Annabeth; her new friend had brought and ease and speed to the time that she hadn't felt for quite some time. There was something kind and calming about Piper.

"I found the most adorable little bench outside the west doors when I got lost this morning and we have to sit there because it's really cute and there's this little tree over it and the leaves are just starting to turn gold around the edges and I think the bench is at least like fifty years—"

"Piper!" interrupted Annabeth, trying not to laugh at her friend's antics. "Just show me, 'kay?"

The bench turned out to be just as cute as Piper said it was. It was a small, wooden bench with curled iron arm rests on the sides and the old beams of rough russet wood curled backwards at the top. The little willow tree Piper described sat behind the bench a bit to one side and contented itself by dropping half-golden leaves on their heads.

Piper was just describing something Leo had done in math class – Annabeth often teased her friend about spending more time stalking Jason than being with her friends – when Percy and Grover ambled around the corner.

Annabeth froze. Percy froze too. Piper and Grover looked at each other and rolled their eyes. By now, the others had figured out something was wrong between the raven-haired boy and the blonde girl. The world always seemed to stop every time the two accidentally made eye contact.

Annabeth looked away first, tearing her eyes away from Percy and looking back at Piper.

"Uh, sorry, Pipes. You were saying?"

Piper raised her eyebrows, but continued. "Okay, so then Ms. Henderson asked him why he had Sharpie all over his face, and he and Jason just sort of froze, right, and…"

There was a loud crash, and Annabeth and Piper both jumped from their seats on the bench. Annabeth's half-eaten ham sandwich fell into the dirt at her feet.

"Oh! Sorry dude, here…"

Annabeth's mind quickly filled in the blanks. Percy was on the ground and Jason, Grover and Jason's friend Leo were standing over him looking concerned. Jason was getting to his feet, so Annabeth decided that somehow, Percy and Jason had managed to collide.

Out of nowhere, Jason's hand shot out to help Percy up. Percy winced away from his hand, and his eyes darted towards Annabeth. She caught his gaze, saw the flash of fear. This was their chance. Annabeth knew he could read her like no one else.

 _Let me help you_ , Annabeth pleaded with her eyes. _Let me come back! Please! I'm the only one that knows…_

Percy gave one tiny, miniscule shake of his head. Annabeth knew it was too small for anyone else to notice. Percy tore his gaze away and grabbed Jason's hand as the other boy pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks," grunted Percy, his eyes hollow, like the flashback had taken the life out of him. Annabeth bit her lip and stared at the ground, her hands clenched at her sides. Dizziness rushed through her body as flashbacks from that day, the worst of her life, flashed over in her mind's eye.

"Hey you guys want to sit with us?" she foggily heard Jason asking. "We've been sitting out in the field. It's really nice, though you've got to look out for those ants because they are _murder_ …"

Jason's voice faded away and Annabeth could feel Piper's concerned gaze. She could feel the spinning world slowing, and she looked up, already blinking away her tears.

This was her life. She had to cover the damage. No one would ever know what she had gone through that day, what the memories still did to her, besides Percy.

And in the past few minutes, her hopes of her and her best friend ever reconciling were shattered.

 _Percy was the only one who I thought cared anything about me. And now I know he doesn't._

"What was that all about?" Piper broke through Annabeth's thoughts, sounding concerned.

Annabeth shook her head. "Nothing." She watched Percy walk away in the distance and forced herself to feel nothing but numbness. "Nothing at all."

* * *

 **A/N: For some reason I imagined the part where Piper raises her head and we see her face for the first time like one of those old sitcoms when there's a celebrity guest and they turn around so you see their face and the whole audience cheers...no? Anyways, sorry it's been so long! School and life and music and whatever, y'know? You're lucky you even got a chapter this week, since this week is production week for our school musical and I have to be at school practicing until at least 5:30 everyday. Once spring break rolls around I'll try to post a chapter or two more. In any case I hoped you enjoyed today's chapter! Shout out to my fabulous friend Rachel for once again polishing up the chapter to make it shiny. You're the bes!**

 **And hey, why not leave me a review and tell me what you thought? Or even favourite the story- We're almost at 100 favourites! Can we get there?**

 **Love you all!**

 **-GGW**


	16. Bats and Harpies

"So," Piper began, clutching a small stuffed lion to her chest and bouncing up and down on the mattress, "are you gonna do it?"

Annabeth glanced over at her best friend. Piper wore a pink cottony tank top and flannel bottoms, her long, dark, glossy hair tied in two braids that dangled down her back. Little tufts of uneven hair stuck out the sides of the braids.

Annabeth sighed, twisting her fingers together anxiously. "I already told you, Pipes. I can't."

Piper sighed dramatically, flopping back over onto the bed. "Ugh, Annabeth, can't you _ever_ do anything nice just for me? I swear I won't ever ask for anything else and I'll love you forever and ever if you do it." She gave Annabeth a childish pout, her lower lip jutting out and her colourful eyes widening into a sad puppy gaze.

Annabeth hesitated for just a second. Piper had a way with words and expressions that made her almost impossible to refuse. But she shook it off and looked away from Piper's face, which was hanging upside-down off the bed, her braids brushing the floor.

"I'm sorry, Piper… I just can't do it."

"Why?" Piper whined. "You always say that, but you never tell me _why_. What could be so bad about it?"

Annabeth sighed shakily and tried to run her fingers through her knotted hair. The two sat in Piper's spacious room, Piper in her queen sized bed and Annabeth on a cushiony mattress on the floor. The clock was approaching one o'clock in the morning, and Annabeth could feel her eyes staring to droop. Piper, on the other hand, had yet to show any signs of sleepiness.

It had been over a year since Annabeth's last full conversation with Percy Jackson—and it still caused a sharp pain in her chest even to think about him. Annabeth had heard people talk about break-ups; they made it all sound like it hurt for a while, then faded into memories of happier times. She had heard that the bitterness faded.

Of course, she hadn't exactly _broken up_ with Percy. It wasn't like they had ever been dating or anything. But she was sure it felt the same… if not worse. He had been her _best friend._ Annabeth was sure it was almost worse than a breakup. The same heartache, the same tears soaking her pillow late at night. So why did it still hurt as freshly as it had that awful day? Annabeth could hardly bear to think of it, let alone explain it to Piper.

"Maybe one day…" She fiddled with the end of her tangled curl. "Maybe one day I can tell you what—what happened. But I can't…right now." Annabeth's voice broke a little at the end of her sentence and she started at the ground, blinking back the tears that she never allowed to fall.

Piper gave her a full minute to mourn her long lost friendship before she stared whining again. "Fine!" She drew out the word in mock exasperation. "I'm just saying that Percy's like best friends with Jason and if you just _talked_ to him I could totally get close to Jason. I mean we sat like two seats apart in English all last year and he never even _talked_ to me, I'm just saying if our friends had something in common, maybe…"

"I said _no,_ Piper!" Annabeth stood up quickly, knocking over a lamp. She loved Piper to pieces, but sometimes she was incredibly shallow.

Piper just really didn't seem to understand. She had never known real heartbreak, or been faced with such an impossible choice. Annabeth didn't even think Piper had ever been as close to anyone as she had been to Percy. It would've been too hard to explain, even to someone as close to her as the pretty brunette in her worn-out pajamas.

Piper was mercifully quiet for a minute. Then, in a whisper, she said, "Be careful. You might wake the dog up. Dove is very cranky in the middle of the night."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm going to brush my teeth."

Ten minutes later the room was shrouded in darkness and the air was silent. Annabeth was exhausted. She didn't particularly like staying up late—a sleepover with Piper was the only reason she even consented to losing her precious sleep. Her eyes were just starting to flicker shut when Piper's soft voice cut through the darkness.

"Jason's eyes are like, really blue."

Annabeth couldn't help but burst out laughing, and she buried her face in her pillow to stifle the noise. She finally emerged again from the pillow a minute later. "So I've heard."

"Do you think he will have forgotten my name over the summer?" Piper's voice asked, and Annabeth could sense the petty anxiousness in her tone.

"Why would he have forgotten your name?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in the dark.

"Because he hasn't seen me in _months_ and you tend to forget the people you don't know very well. What if he doesn't remember I exist and I have to introduce myself all over again?"

"What I think you need to do is go to sleep."

Piper fell silent and Annabeth snuggled back down into her sleeping bag on the floor and closed her eyes, feeling her mind drift into the blissful oblivion that was sleep…

"So what about that Luke guy? What's up with him?" asked Piper.

Annabeth groaned. If she got any sleep tonight it would be a miracle.

* * *

"—and if I don't get at least a 95 in math this term I have basically _no chance_ of becoming an architect…"

"As much I _love_ to hear you complain about your abnormally high marks, please shut up." Piper rolled her eyes.

"I'm just saying—"

"I don't care what you're _just saying_! All of last year I was barely averaging an 80 in math and if I don't get my grades up this term, I swear my dad's gonna—"

"Shh!" said Annabeth, raising a hand in front of Piper's face.

Piper stared at Annabeth's hand indignantly for a moment, then ducked around it, her long braids swishing. "Don't you shush me, Annabeth Chase. We may have been friends for over a year, but that does not give you the right to shush me!"

Annabeth turned to Piper, eyebrows raised. "It gives me _perfect_ right to shush you. And I just meant – well, look for yourself!"

Annabeth pointed across the school yard, and Piper's eyes narrowed as she leaned forward to get a better glimpse at the sight. A small girl with dark skin was scrambling to pick up her books as three boys crowded around her. As she picked up the last one, one of the boys leaned over and smacked her books so they tumbled out of her hands. The girl stumbled backwards, losing her footing and falling hard onto the leaf strewn ground.

Annabeth could hear the boys' faint laugher from where she stood. She glanced over at Piper, meeting her multihued eyes. Then, by an unspoken agreement, both girls dropped their backpacks and ran over.

"Hey!" called Annabeth. "Leave her alone!"

One of the boys turned at her voice. "Or what?"

"Or _this_ ," said Annabeth, and she slapped him.

"And we can tell the teacher, of course. I'm sure all of this is for attention," said Piper, her arms crossed. Somehow, even with her colourful clothes and pretty face, she still managed to look menacing.

"If you tell the teachers we'll get you," said one of the boys, trying to sound braver than he looked.

Annabeth scoffed. "Of course you will. Now skedaddle, small fry." She shooed them with her hands and they all scooped up their backpacks and walked off, muttering something about crazy girls.

Annabeth and Piper high-fived, and then turned to the girl. She was starting to get to her feet again. Her perfect cinnamon curls had been mussed by the attack, and her eyes like molten golden looked glossy as she leaned to pick up her binders. Annabeth and Piper knelt down to help, handing her the papers with identical grins.

"Thanks," the girl muttered, trying to wipe a discreet hand across her eyes and starting to walk away quickly, her eyes focused on her feet

"Hey, wait!" Piper called to her retreating back. "You can't expect us to fight off a couple of trolls like that and not become friends."

The girl turned back to them, wiping her eyes again. "You don't want to be friends with me. Everything I touch gets hurt."

"That's—"

" _Piper,_ " Annabeth warned.

"Ridiculous!" finished Piper hastily, grinning over at Annabeth. "I will not except this kind of talk. You are now our friend."

The girl couldn't help but laugh as Piper and Annabeth walked over and grabbed her under the arms, pretending to drag her off. But she straightened her expression as soon as they let her go.

"I'm serious. No one… no one wants to be friends with me. I just wreck everything." Her bottom lip quivered.

Annabeth looked over at Piper, then turned back to the girl. "I don't think you can mess up my life more than it's been messed up before."

Piper grinned. "Hey, I like a challenge!"

The girl offered them a small smile. "You mean it?"

Annabeth smiled softly at her. "Sure we do."

The girl smiled widely, the tears of a moment before forgotten. Dimples creased her soft cheeks.

"I'm Hazel," she told them as they walked. "I'm pretty new here. I moved here from New Orleans at the beginning of the summer and I haven't made any real new friends yet. Well—except for Frank." Annabeth noted the way her cheeks reddened slightly at the name. Apparently Piper did too; her eyes met Annabeth's, twinkling with mischief.

"Well you're our friend now," Piper announced. "There's no getting out of it. We're keeping you. You'll be like our little puppy dog!"

"Piper!" Annabeth raised her eyebrows, but Hazel laughed comfortably. Despite her initial grief, she seemed like a pretty happy person.

"Are you guys in seventh grade?" Hazel's chirpy voice cut into Annabeth's thoughts.

"Yeah!" said Piper. "It's cool. Seventh grade boys are a lot cuter than sixth grade boys, but you get _way_ more homework—"

"Are you kidding?" Annabeth interrupted. Piper blinked at her. "Seventh grade boys have way more pimples."

Hazel laughed. Her laugh was sweet and reminded Annabeth of sunshine, somehow.

"I'm in sixth grade." Hazel brushed a stay curl out of her face. "I just moved here in the summer. Do you know how horrible it is to move at the beginning of the summer? I had no friends all summer. But maybe that's just me. You guys are my first friends here. Well, except Frank, I guess." There was that name again.

Piper asked the question that was playing at Annabeth's lips. "Who's Frank?"

Hazel looked down at her feet, a little smile playing on her lips. Annabeth couldn't quite see her cheeks though her thick hair, but she though Hazel might be blushing. "Frank's just my neighbor. He lives in the little yellow house beside mine. I met him the first day we got here."

"Ooh, this sounds good!" Piper winked at Annabeth, who rolled her eyes.

Hazel was definitely blushing. "He's just my friend. That's all."

"Yeah, right," Piper whispered in Annabeth's ear. Annabeth slapped her playfully on the shoulder.

Annabeth glanced down at her watch, and tapped Piper distractedly on the shoulder. Piper turned quickly, her soft brown hair flipping over her shoulder and her colourful eyes expectant.

"We've got to get to class," Annabeth informed her. She turned to Hazel. "We always eat at the bench by the side door on willow street—the one under the maple tree. You know the one?" Hazel nodded. "Good. Come join us. We'll be there 12:15 sharp. C'mon Piper." She dug her nails into her friend's arm, and pulled her along. Piper waved helplessly goodbye to Hazel, who gave her a bright, wide smile back.

"I like her. She's cute," said Piper, trying to massage Annabeth's fingernail indents out of her arm. "And you really need to cut your nails."

"Shut up."

They got to class just as the first bell rang, and both hurried to their shared table by the window. On the first day of school, they had made very sure to get there early so that they could get the best possible table. Ever since, they had managed to obtain the closest table to the window. It was the perfect table, always warm and sunny, but never too hot or blinding. The only problem with it was that Piper always got in trouble for gazing out into the autumn air and daydreaming.

It was after about half an hour of areas, when Annabeth was wondering how hard it would really be to skip seventh grade math all together and go straight to eighth grade, that there was a soft knock at the door. Mr. Antoine, who dislike being interrupted, growled slightly and told Leo to go open the door. With a strict sense of purpose, the principal walked in, her hands on the shoulders of a girl a few years older than the rest of them.

"This is Thalia," she said. "She will be joining your class."

The principal promptly left, and Thalia remained standing in front of the class. She blew a small bubble of pink gum and her bright blue eyes flashed as she examined the class in front of her. They all looked a bit taken aback. Her bubble popped with a snap.

"Um, nice to meet you Thalia," said Mr. Antoine, who seemed to think introductions were not for math class. "Please put your gum in the garbage. You can go sit at Piper and Annabeth's table by the window. They have an extra spot."

Thalia grinned and popped another gum bubble. Without spitting it out, she walked over to Annabeth and Piper's table and pulled up another chair. Piper shifted her chair away slightly, and Annabeth couldn't say she blamed her. Thalia was kind of scary looking, with electric blue eyes and short, spiky black hair. She wore ripped black jeans and a leather jacket that was too big for her, and silver bangle bracelets dangled off her wrists.

Mr. Antoine cleared his throat and continued talking in a droning voice about squares. Annabeth and Piper both stared at Thalia. She grinned at them. Annabeth blinked back at her. Apparently unaware of their hostility, Thalia leaned in towards Annabeth to whisper loudly in her ear, "What are we doing?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Areas," she whispered back.

Thalia leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Annabeth half-expected her to put her feet on the table. "I got this," Thalia said loudly, so that the entire class turned to look at her. Even Mr. Antoine turned away from his droning speech about areas to glare at her.

"Miss Grace, I'm going to have to ask you to keep quiet." He pointed his chalk at her aggressively.

Thalia simply leaned back farther in her chair, her eyebrows raised in an innocent sort of way. She popped another bubble. Mr. Antoine looked like he was restraining himself from doing something regrettable. He turned back to the board and continued writing, his voice sinking back into its usual drone. Thalia turned to Annabeth, and wiggled her eyebrows up and down. Annabeth couldn't help but giggle. Maybe Thalia wasn't so bad after all.

When the lunch bell sounded, Annabeth and Piper were the first ones out. They made a point of being the first ones out of math class every day. It was the only way to beat the lunch crowd. They left Thalia behind, gathering the supplies that she had eventually been forced to take out.

"…and I swear he was bright red the entire time!"

Annabeth laughed. "Seriously, Piper. You stare _way_ too much at Jason."

Piper punched her playfully on the shoulder. "Oh shut up, you. I'm serious! I'm telling you, the entire time Mr. Antsy was telling that new girl off Jason was bright red!"

"You are such a doofus, Piper," said Annabeth. "You're always over-analyzing things. And you shouldn't call him Mr. Antsy."

"Oh you be quiet. Like you aren't _always_ over-analyzing things! And _he_ is antsy and you know it. That's why everyone picked up on the nickname."

Annabeth knew that Piper was secretly proud that everyone used her nickname.

"Hey wait up! Hey…hey…Annabeth! Wait up!"

Annabeth turned. It was their new classmate Thalia, running to catch up to them with papers spilling out of her arms. Her backpack was hanging open. She looked between them with a grin. "I'm eating lunch with you guys."

Piper looked a little taken aback, but Annabeth smiled easily. "That makes two new additions to our ranks, Pipes."

Piper smiled, raising one of her perfect eyebrows. "Don't call me Pipes."

"Pipes it is!" said Thalia. "Onward, Pipes."

When they reached their little bench spot underneath the maple tree, Hazel was sitting there already, her nose buried in a book and seemingly oblivious to the world.

"So you found our meeting spot," said Piper, sitting down on the bench and pulling her lunch bag open.

Hazel shut her book and leaned back against the maple tree. She grinned up at them, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Sure did."

Thalia blinked. "Wait you didn't tell me there was another one of you."

"Um, yeah," said Annabeth. "This is Hazel. We, um, just met her this morning."

"Oh," said Thalia, sitting down on the grass at Annabeth's feet. "Hey Hazel."

Hazel gave her a shy smile. "Hi."

"Don't you have a lunch?" asked Annabeth, as Hazel's fingers crept towards her book again. They snapped back at Annabeth's voice. "Hmm? Oh…no. My mom forgot to pack me one today."

Annabeth carefully scrutinized Hazel's expression. Hazel's voice was light and cheerful, but Annabeth was good at detecting secrets and lies; she had told enough of them herself. And it wasn't hard to notice the way that Hazel's eyes didn't quite meet hers. But Annabeth decided not to question it. Instead, she pulled off half of her sandwich and handed it to Hazel.

"Here, have this," Annabeth smiled, "it's a turkey sandwich. We had some left over from thanksgiving."

Hazel took it somewhat reluctantly, but ate it quickly once it was in her nimble fingers.

Thalia, having finished eating her lunch, lay back on the grass, sighing loudly. She spread out her arms like she was going to make a snow angel in the soft green carpet.

"So Thalia," said Piper through a mouthful of soup she was scooping from a Thermos. "Where did you come from?"

Thalia blinked open her bright blue eyes to stare at Piper. "What do you mean?"

Piper swallowed. "Not many people start at a new school in the middle of November."

"Oh." Thalia shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I've been caught up in some stuff for the past couple of months. I just got back to school now."

"Hmm," said Piper.

"Yeah…" said Thalia. "I'm actually fourteen. I just…got held back a couple years when I was like, ten."

Annabeth stopped chewing to glance over at Thalia.

Piper cleared her throat. "That's cool."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Obviously it's not, you moron. It sucks. I have to have class with you losers."

Piper was saved from any further conversation as some sixth grade boys walked by and Thalia started throwing pieces of bread at them.

"What do you think of Thalia?" asked Piper quietly, as she and Annabeth walked home later that day.

"She seems nice enough," said Annabeth, chewing at a hangnail, "a little scary though. Hazel's just sweet."

Piper looked uncomfortable. "Why do you think she got held back in school?"

Annabeth gave her a stern look. "I don't know. She'll tell us if she wants to. Everybody has secrets they want to keep.

Piper's eyes narrowed in confusion. But Annabeth's mind was already far away, her eyes focused on the raven haired boy half a block ahead.

* * *

Annabeth wasn't sure how anyone could make something so interesting so unbelievably boring.

History class had the potential to be one of Annabeth's favourites, but somehow it wasn't. And Annabeth knew exactly the reason why. The history teacher, Mrs. Dodds, was somehow the most boring person on the entire planet. She wasn't particularly nice either. How anyone could make the various massacres of the first nations population boring, Annabeth was unsure. It was surely an interesting and slightly forbidden topic, and yet Mrs. Dodds droned on. Piper was staring out the window with a glazed look in her eyes. Mrs. Dodds had already caught her staring out the window twice, but she didn't seem able to pay attention to the drawling voice of Mrs. Dodds.

"…and the 200 soldiers under Colonel Connor's command possibly killed 250 or more Shoshone…"

Mrs. Dodds paused to frown at Piper's glazed eyes and small smile as she stared at the brightly coloured leaves that waved lazily outside the window.

"With good reason," she muttered as an afterthought.

The temperature in the room instantly seemed to drop ten degrees. Piper's head snapped forwards, and Annabeth's eyes widened. The whole class held their breath.

"Excuse me?" hissed Annabeth, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Annabeth…" whispered Piper, trying to put a hand on her friend's arm. Annabeth shrugged her off."

Mrs. Dodds looked a bit uncomfortable, but answered haughtily anyways. "You heard what I said."

"I hope I didn't," said Annabeth quietly.

Mrs. Dodds turned to Annabeth, her eyes flashing. "What did you just say?"

"Annabeth!" said Piper more sharply. "Forget about it."

Annabeth stared at Piper. For a second, she was tempted to do as Piper said, and let the whole thing slide. But her rage came crashing back, and she shook her best friend off once more.

"I _said_ ," said Annabeth slowly and sharply, as if talking to someone very young, "I hoped I didn't hear you."

"Well I…" Mrs. Dodds started.

"Because that was a pretty disgusting thing to say."

"How dare…"

"How dare I? How dare I? Can you _hear_ yourself? Let me ask you, how did you ever become a teacher? Was the person who gave you a teaching certificate deluded? Because no one in their right mind would let a _bully_ like you teach." Annabeth's voice was growing louder as her anger intensified.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, you arrogant girl!"

Annabeth laughed wildly. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Piper watching her with alarm.

"I've heard that enough times to last me a lifetime. I don't know what I'm talking about. I never know what I'm talking about. How often do old people actually know what they're talking about? Because I'm pretty sure an old bats like you have no idea what they're talking about!"

"If you don't shut up now, girl, there will be consequences," said Mrs. Dodds, her thin nostrils flaring. The entire class watched the argument like a tennis match, their heads snapping back and forth in a sort of horrified delight.

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth leaped to her feet. "Will there be consequences if I tell you that you're a STUPID OLD INCOSIDERATE HARPIE THAT DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ANYONE OTHER THAN HERSELF?"

It looked like flames were about to start shooting out of Mrs. Dodds ears. " _OFFICE_ , CHASE. NOW!"

Without another word, Annabeth stepped out of her seat, knocking her chair over with a crash. She strode silently to the door, swung it open and slammed it shut behind her with a bang that seemed to rattle the entire room. Everyone listened in silence as her stomping slowly faded down the hall.

The entire class sat in silence for an entire minute. Then Percy leapt to his feet. "You _know_ she was right _,_ though. You shouldn't judge people based on what colour they are! People don't deserve to be killed because of their skin colour, and if you think they do then you _are_ an old hag, like - like Annabeth said!"

"SIT DOWN, JACKSON!" yelled Mrs. Dodds. Her face was nearly purple. Percy slumped quickly down in his seat, terrified.

No one payed much attention to the lesson after that. Piper had her arms wrapped around her. She looked slightly sad and noticeably troubled. About twenty minutes later Annabeth came back, pulling open the door with an air of calamity and walking quietly over to her seat. But underneath her calm mask she was still seething.

Mrs. Dodds cleared her throat, but Annabeth ignored her, crisply picking up her chair and sitting down again. Mrs. Dodds cleared her throat again, and Annabeth glanced up, daring her to speak.

"You will not be sitting with Miss McLean anymore, Miss Chase."

Both Piper and Annabeth's heads snapped up in confusion.

"You will be sitting with Mr. Jackson when you are in this class, from now on."

Percy's head snapped up at this, too. He and Annabeth had barely exchanged two words in the past year and a half. She hated him. How would they sit together?

No one moved.

"You heard me," said Mrs. Dodds, her nails-on-chalkboard voice hard. "Move."

"But where will I sit?" Grover piped up from beside Percy.

"You can sit with Miss McLean, Mr. Underwood. Miss Chase, I expect you to move when I ask you to. _Go!"_

Annabeth pulled her backpack from under the table and stormed silently across the aisle to Percy's table. Grover tried to give her a little sympathetic smile as they switched places, but Annabeth ignored him, her eyes focused on the ground. She slid into her seat, crossing her arms on the desk and burying her head into them. She didn't look up for the rest of the lesson. When the class ended, she was out of the room before anyone else was out of their seats.

"Annabeth! _Annabeth!_ Wait!"

Annabeth stopped and waited until Piper caught up, slowly moving her clenched fist up and down in an attempt to calm herself down. She had made it half a block before Piper caught her.

"Annabeth," she said breathlessly. "Hey. Thanks for sticking up for me…but you didn't have to get yourself into so much trouble… hey, are you crying?"

Annabeth shook her head and tried to wipe away the tears that betrayed her. "I just can't believe that she would do that. I mean, I knew the wicked old bat was nuts but why would she do that? How could she make me sit with Percy Jackson? I _hate_ Percy Jackson. And he hates me." Annabeth's voice broke a little at the end of the sentence. She was definitely crying now, and when Piper tried to put a comforting hand on her arm she pulled away. "No, Piper. I can't sit with Percy. I hate him."

Percy and Grover walked by them at that moment. Grover was chatting happily away about something, but Percy was staring at the ground, nodding every now and then. His bright green eyes looked a little duller than usual, full of some sadness. Piper and Annabeth silently watched them pass.

"I think he heard you," whispered Piper, as soon as Percy and Grover were out of earshot.

"I don't care," said Annabeth resolutely. But she watched Percy walk away, his head drooped slightly towards the ground, she realized she _did_ care. She cared more than she'd like to admit. Even if every pore in her body hated Percy Jackson for his stupid stubbornness, she still couldn't bear to hurt him.

Not for the last time, she wished fervently, deep in a secret part of her heart, that they were still friends.

* * *

 **AN: And we are back! Ugh I always take so long in between updates I swear I don't mean to it just goes too fast gahh! I will try very hard to get the next update up before another month is gone. I have so many wonderful ideas for this story. Oh yeah and I know that Mrs. Dodds was actually the algebra teacher in The Lightning Thief, but I needed a nasty teacher so I made her the history teacher for the purposes of this story. And she's not done her torture yet. Kudos again to the lovely WritingManiac for her terrific editing skills. And I spent a long time writing but especially editing this one, so as always drop me a review and tell me your thoughts! What do you think of Hazel and Thalia?**

 **Happy Easter!  
**

 **GGW out!**


	17. A Moment in History

"Stop throwing spit wads at me, Leo!"

"I'm not!"

"Oh come on! I can see them in your hand!"

Percy sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. Piper and Leo were always arguing like five-year-olds; Percy honestly had a hard time believing that they weren't siblings or something like that. They literally never stopped bickering like brother and sister. He watched in silent amusement as they squabbled over the spit wads until Leo pulled one out and hit Piper in the face with it. Percy turned away, chuckling, before it got too messy.

Even as he chatted casually with Grover, who was sitting across the aisle beside Piper, Percy was hyper-aware of Annabeth's presence beside him. They hadn't been that close since… since the _incident_ , and Percy could almost feel it, a nervous, prickling feeling that tingled up and down the arm Annabeth was closest to. He stole a quick glance at her. She sat quietly with her head in her hands, staring blankly at the board with an expression on her face Percy couldn't quite read. Her head started to turn back towards his, and he quickly spun back to Grover.

The door to the classroom slammed loudly. Piper hastily dropped Leo's collar, which she had been holding tightly as she interrogated him and scurried back to her seat. After another moment of loud whispers and shuffling the class fell silent.

"Thank you, Miss McLean," said Mrs. Dodds coldly. The class giggled as Piper's dark cheeks flushed scarlet.

Mrs. Dodds pushed her glasses up her angular nose and set the papers she was holding down carefully on her desk. "We will be starting a new project today. You will be making a poster of an important historical event of America. You may choose your own subject."

She paused for a moment as a shimmer of a murmur crossed the classroom, everyone discussing this new development with their friends. Percy glanced over at Grover and raised his eyebrows. So far it didn't sound too bad.

With a slight smirk, Mrs. Dodds continued. "Another thing. You will be working in partners."

 _I had to jinx it_ , was the first thought that leaped into his head.

The class immediately erupted into chatter as everyone locked eyes with their friends. Some of the girls immediately grabbed each other's hands and looked imploringly over at Mrs. Dodds.

Mrs. Dodds tutted loudly like she was scolding a naughty dog. "You will not get to choose your partner. You will be working with your table partner. This…" she looked right at Annabeth, thinly veiled satisfaction in her eyes, "…is final." She seemed to be enjoying the groans of the people who didn't happen to be sitting next to their best friends.

Without thinking, Percy peeked over at Annabeth, and by force of habit, the two shared a mutual look of disgust. What kind of a teacher did that? As Percy turned away, he realized that it was the first time in over a year that he had shared anything with Annabeth, even as little as a look of repulsion over their teacher.

To avoid looking back at Annabeth, Percy glanced over at Grover and nearly laughed out loud. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Piper. Grover was already talking enthusiastically about the first American potato farmers, and Percy didn't get the feeling that he was going to stop anytime soon. Piper slumped in her chair, slowly twisting a strand of her dark hair. She gave a little huff and glanced over at Jason. Percy noticed she wasn't exactly subtle about her little crush on Jason— it hadn't taken Percy very long to notice, at any rate, and Annabeth always used to say he was the densest human alive.

He quickly tried to push the memory out of his head. To distract himself, he turned back to Piper. He couldn't help but suppress a little laugh as he watched; she would so obviously rather be paired up with Jason. For a spilt-second he wondered if he could somehow play matchmaker with the two of his friends, but quickly shunned the thought from his head. What was up with him today?

When the bell rang, Annabeth was first out of the class as usual, and Percy watched her go out of the corner of his eye. Piper trailed behind her chattering loudly. Percy watched them exit the classroom as he collected his things from around his chair and under the table. He always managed to get so absorbed in whatever he was thinking that he never noticed class coming to a close, and he was always left gathering his things.

 _Annabeth used to wait for me_ , he thought idly as he stuffed a bright blue pencil into his backpack. It was true. She had never done it quietly, either. She had always complained loudly as she waited for him, nudging his stuff around with her toes to make it more difficult. "You're too slow!" she would always complain, "I'm gonna ditch you!" But of course, she never had.

"Hey. Dude."

Percy started out of his retrieve and looked up guiltily. He hadn't realized that Grover had been waiting for him. How long had he been standing there?

Grover shuffled his feet impatiently. "Quit grinning and pack up your stuff. Maybe if we walk fast enough we can catch Annabeth and Piper. Y'know. For the projects." He winked devilishly before tripping to the doorway.

Percy rolled his eyes. He knew that the tension between him and Annabeth was both weird and obvious. But unfortunately, Grover had interpreted it the wrong way, and now seemed to be under the impression that Percy _liked_ Annabeth. As in, _like_ liked. Which, of course, was absolutely ridiculous. He hadn't even fully forgiven her… and she would never forgive him.

The two boys didn't catch Annabeth or Piper on the way home. The girls had too much of a head start, and by the time Percy and Grover were out in the March drizzle they were long gone. And that's what left Percy staring at the phone that night, wondering if he should call Annabeth. About the project. Obviously.

Four times he picked up the phone, before setting it down again quickly. It wasn't like he had forgotten Annabeth's number; he had memorized it from the moment he knew one from two. There had been so many times when he had dialed it so quickly he had gotten it wrong, or so hard that the phone had beeped in protest. The number was still etched into the back of his skull. He knew it as well as his own, maybe better. Finally, the fifth time he got the courage to dial.

Why was his heart pounding?

His fingers seemed to dial in slow motion.

The phone rang once, twice, three times. For a moment he almost thought she wasn't going to answer.

"Hello?"

It was always the third ring. Percy had forgotten that about her. "Hey… Annabeth?"

For a minute there was nothing but static, and Percy started to wonder if she had hung up. Then her voice rang out through the phone, distorted, but crystal clear as always. "Yeah…Percy?"

"Um," Percy gulped, "I was wondering when we should… get together… to work on the project?"

"Oh," said Annabeth, and there was a short uncomfortable silence before she spoke again. "Do we, um, even know when that's due yet?"

"Mrs. Dodds said Monday, I think."

"Monday?" Annabeth groaned. "That woman is crazy! That's only a week."

"Tell me about it." Percy rolled his eyes, forgetting for a moment that Annabeth couldn't see him.

"Um, okay, can you do Wednesday? You can, uh, come over here after school?" Percy didn't miss the stiffness in her voice, but he decided to ignore it.

"Sure. Yeah. Of course."

"Okay," Annabeth said, and there was another awkward silence before she continued with, "I guess… I'll see you tomorrow, Percy."

"Bye," said Percy quietly.

There was a slight shuffling, then nothing but static.

* * *

Percy was sure Annabeth was looking at him.

There was the funny prickle up and down his arms again, the one he knew was caused by her. He kept convincing himself that his ex-best friend was looking at him, even if it sounded weird. When the vision got too real he finally just _had_ to turn to her and the hopeful picture faded as he saw her head turned towards the board, round face cupped in her hands.

He turned away quickly before Grover could catch him staring at her.

When the bell rang Percy shoved everything haphazardly into his bag, but Annabeth was still faster than him and he was forced to call out for her before she left the classroom. "Hey! Annabeth! Wait!"

She turned back to him, and Percy couldn't help but wince a little bit at the coldness in her eyes. She still hated him; that much was obvious. And the worst part was, Percy didn't even feel like he could blame her. He should have forgiven her before it was too late… maybe he should have never broken up their friendship in the first place.

Percy tried reminding himself with as much force as he could manage that she had still broken her promise. He didn't want to be friends with someone he couldn't trust.

But the annoying little voice in the back of his head continued to protest otherwise.

Percy ignored it grimly and scooped up his backpack as he wandered over to Annabeth, doing his best to match her cold expression. "We're working on the project today, aren't we?"

Annabeth nodded sourly. "I guess we are."

She spun around and left the classroom, leaving Percy to trail behind. They were joined by Piper and Grover after a minute, for which Percy was very grateful.

The trek home was uncomfortably silent that day. Piper and Grover seemed to sense the tension, and they were silent for most of the way back. Before long they turned off to walk in different directions. Percy watched as Piper ambled away, turning around only to blow Annabeth a small kiss before she turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

Percy and Annabeth trekked on in silence. Annabeth, true to form, strode purposefully ahead, Percy trailing a few steps behind her.

She only turned to face Percy once the two had reached her house, yanking open the door as her icy eyes urged him to walk faster.

"Thanks," Percy muttered as he hurried past her.

"Okay," said Annabeth quickly, "let's get upstairs before my dad…"

"Percy!" Annabeth's dad, Frederick, came around the corner grinning. Percy heard Annabeth let out a small groan.

"Hey, Percy!" said Frederick jovially. "Long time, no see! You haven't been around here much lately now, have you? I always wondered why Annabeth stopped talking about you so much. So you're back now, I see?"

Annabeth's face was bright red and she looked like she wanted to die. Percy had to grin a little at the murderous expression on her face.

"Um, yeah," he said, "we're working on a school project…"

"And we've _really_ got to get to work," Annabeth butted in hurriedly, grabbing Percy's arm and hauling him up the wooden stairs.

"And you _really_ need to cut your nails," said Percy, rubbing the fingernail-sized dents in his forearm.

"Shut up," Annabeth snapped. He obediently said no more.

A few minutes after they entered her room Annabeth began tinkering with an old, rather battered-looking laptop, trying vigorously to start it up. Percy decided it was alright to speak again.

"So…what are we doing our project on?"

Annabeth glanced up over her laptop and glared at Percy. "I made a list of subjects. You choose one." She flicked a crumpled piece of paper through the air, and Percy lunged forward to catch it.

He read through the subject list until he found the one that softened her glare the most. He was secretly pleased when she gave a little smile as he read out the subject he had chosen.

"That—that's a good one. We should get to work. I'll do research, you put the poster together."

And so they began working. Percy cut and glued small colourful squares of paper to the light blue poster board Annabeth had chosen, and Annabeth's nimble fingers flew across the keyboard as she picked words from the website in front of her. Every so often Percy found himself glancing up at her out of habit. He forced himself not to look at her anymore after she peeked up with a small frown and asked him what he was grinning at.

A few hours went by, and the two slipped into a semi-comfortable silence. When Annabeth finished typing up her facts they sat together, cutting and gluing paper to the board. Percy watched Annabeth's hands as she spread glue across the back of a small piece of paper. He stared at them in confusion for a moment. There was something off.

Suddenly he inhaled sharply, causing Annabeth to glimpse up at him in confusion, but all Percy could do was continue staring at Annabeth's hand. The little bubblegum ring he had given her all those years ago had vanished. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed it before. There wasn't even a dent on her finger where it used to sit.

Percy went back to cutting the paper, brow furrowing as he worked. He wasn't sure why he had expected Annabeth to keep it; he honestly hadn't really thought about it before. To be fair, he'd told her that she had to wear it as long as they were friends, and obviously they weren't friends anymore, so it made sense she had taken it off—probably thrown it away. But even so, it still stung a little bit, that she had cast away the token of their friendship so easily.

 _"Annabeth!"_

Her head snapped up as her stepmom's voice rang up the stairs.

"Dammit," Annabeth hissed, scrambling to her feet and brushing paper scraps off of her lap.

"You promised to clean up all of your stuff from the living room _before tomorrow_! I want you to come and clean it all up _right now_!"

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming!" Annabeth shouted down the stairs. She pointed down at Percy, a touch of her bossy personality shining through. "Stay there. I'll be back in a minute."

Annabeth rushed out of the room and flew down the stairs, her feet banging down on every other step. Percy stood up and stretched, back cracking as he yawned. He walked over to the window and stared out, a slight smile playing at his mouth. He remembered the day he'd climbed that tree; it had been one of the best mornings that he'd had in the years that Gabe lived with him. Looking back on it, he supposed it had been the calm before the storm.

And all at once he couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled away from the window and rushed over to Annabeth's dresser, where her small jewelry box sat innocently. With cold fingers he lifted the wooden lid and peeked inside. Tangled necklaces, broken bracelets… and a small, plastic ring, with a clear base and a translucent red gem with a long crack down the back. Percy stared at it, slightly stunned. It seemed smaller than it had when he had gotten it out of that little gumball machine on Poplar street. Another of Annabeth's broken promises—she had promised to wear it forever.

But Percy knew he had no one to blame but himself for that forgotten vow.

There was the sound of shouting, and then footsteps stomped up the stairs. Percy hurriedly shoved the ring back into the box and slammed the lid back down, managing to fall back into his spot on the floor just as Annabeth burst back through the door and collapsed dramatically on her bed.

"Cleaning will be the death of me," she said and sent Percy a rare grin, which he returned reluctantly.

Just like that their silent work recommenced; they worked for a few hours more, their pretty, neat poster board slowly coming to life. When the board was mostly done, Annabeth slumped onto her back with a sigh, massaging a cramp in her leg.

"Y'know what would be nice?"

"What?" asked Percy automatically, looking up.

"If we could go back in time," said Annabeth. "Kids always want to grow so fast, y'know? I just wish I could go back to before anything was hard."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Annabeth rolled back into a sitting position and leaned in slightly closer to Percy. "I just want to go back to the time when no one had enemies and we were just, you know. Happy-go-lucky kids who were in love—in love with the world."

Percy leaned in closer too, feeling almost like he was gravitating towards Annabeth. They were far too close now, and Percy could count the pale freckles on her nose. Her warm breath on his nose smelled like the Starbursts whose wrappers shrouded the floor. Her eyes were gentle, and her soft lips were parted slightly.

Just for a moment, everything was okay. Annabeth's features softened, leaving behind the ice-cold mask she had acquired and replacing it with a beaming warmth. They were too close, so much closer than they had been in years, and yet Percy wondered what would happen if he closed the last bit of distance between them.

The door opened with a bang and Percy and Annabeth broke apart, falling back into the sitting position they had maintained for so many hours. Frederick, unaware of what he had interrupted, told them dinner was in five minutes and closed the door again.

Percy cursed silently as he began sawing at the tiny scraps of paper again. The moment was gone, and he regretted ever letting it happen. And _of course_ there was a tiny part of him that regretted having the moment broken, and he cursed that part of him even more. He found himself glancing over at Annabeth again, and her plump cheeks were flushed a deep pink that drowned her freckles as she feverishly spread glue on the backs of more of the colourful papers.

* * *

Percy leaned against the side of Annabeth's bed as he watched her sleepily. She was gluing the finishing touches of colour onto the poster and humming quietly to herself. Percy struggled to keep his eyes open, but his eyelids felt heavy and it was so much work to keep them open. Besides, Annabeth's room was so warm, and the small lamp that lit the room reminded Percy of candlelight.

Percy felt his eyes flicker shut.

He was at home again. From the couch, he could hear his mom bustling around in the kitchen. There was a warm, spicy smell that engulfed the room; spaghetti perhaps, or maybe tacos.

Sally came out of the kitchen smiling gently, a tray of blue cookies held in her worn hands. They were just like the first ones that they had made together: blue cookies, blue icing, blue sprinkles. Percy reached for one eagerly.

Sally slapped his hand away and Percy jerked it back, glancing up reproachfully, but it wasn't Sally standing over him anymore. It was Gabe, leering at him with yellow teeth and a broken beer bottle in his hand. He picked up one of the blue cookies in his grubby hand and crushed it into bright blue dust that scattered slowly onto the spotless carpet. But when Percy looked down the rug was no long spotless, instead covered in dirt and the old cans that always used to lie around.

He raised his eyes back up to Gabe, who lunged at him with one grimy hand held out towards his throat. Percy yelled, and there was a bang. Blood spread its tendrils across the carpet, soaking into the soft material and Gabe was on the floor.

When Percy looked up he was outside by the tree in the park, and there was Annabeth, standing across from him with blood streaming down her face. She brought a hand to her face to cover the wound and droplets of blood dripped from between her fingers. Her eyes were like metal, hard, cold and unforgiving.

"All of this is your fault," she said, her voice deformed. "I hate you, Percy Jackson."

And she lunged forwards at him, her hands sticky with blood, but she tripped and they both fell, down, down, down…

" _Percy!"_

Percy gasped and opened his eyes. He was still sitting on the floor in Annabeth's room, but he had slid down the side of her bed. He could feel a cold sweat on his arms, raising goosebumps at the air that touched them.

Annabeth had her hand on his shoulder, and she was staring concernedly into his eyes. For a moment, everything seemed to have washed away from her expression but concern for the boy in front of her.

"You were yelling," she told him. "Are—are you alright?"

Percy blinked up at her incomprehensively and noticed that his face was damp and there was a welling of tears in his eyes. He jumped to his feet.

"I've got to go," he said urgently, trying to steady his rapid breathing. He had to get home. _Now._ He couldn't let Annabeth see him have a panic attack.

"But, Percy…"

" _NO!_ I'm leaving!"

He grabbed his coat from the corner where it lay and pushed the door open, running down the stairs several at a time. He could hear Annabeth thumping down behind him, and he whirled to face her.

"Leave me alone!" he yelled and whirled back around, but not fast enough to miss the hurt in her eyes. He slammed through the door and into the cool March drizzle, falling against a tree by the sidewalk and he tried to clear the leftover images of Gabe from his head.

 _Breathe_ , he reminded himself, like he had every other time it had gotten out of control. The doctor told him to focus on something solid, something that he could be sure would steady him to the earth.

 _Annabeth._ Though he hadn't turned, he could almost see her in the doorway, a silhouette against the soft light that leaked into the road. He focused on her with all his might, and slowly, very slowly, his breathing began to slow, returning to normal.

"I—I can't," he muttered, his voice breaking slightly. He talked more to himself than to anyone else, but he wondered if the wind would bring his voice back to her. "I can't do it. I just can't. I…I'm sorry."

And for one last moment he looked back. She leaned out the door, her hand resting on the door frame and the shadows covering her eyes. Her chin rose slightly and then fell in a small nod. He turned away.

"Goodbye, Percy."

The wind carried her shaky voice to him and he froze, sure he hadn't been meant to hear the soft farewell. Percy almost turned again; in his mind's eye he painted the picture of her silhouette, closing the front door wearily. But he couldn't turn back.

She hated him, and he hated her.

 _That's the way it's always going to be._

With that final thought, Percy tore off home through the night.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay dear friends, after much struggling with my editing and Fanfiction in general I have finally got this chapter up and running. I pretty much am incapable of ending my chapters happily so...sorry about that. But I actually really like this chapter! We got some Percabeth action, which, of course we haven't seen in a little while, and that dream sequence was remarkably fun to write. Dreams are so random that you can pretty much do whatever you feel like when writing them.**

 **So shoutout to all of my awesome reviewers who are super nice and helpful and motivating! And super shoutout to all of you guys that review almost every chapter! (I would name you all but I'm too lazy to go and check the spelling of all your usernames.) Once again give a round of applause to the lovely Rachel for her excellent betaing work! And hey, shoutout to my wonderful friend Jacky who always gets really excited when I update and helps me come with ideas because that's awesome and friends are cool. Yes. Anyways.**

 **Leave me your lovely reviews as always, you know I love to bathe in the glory of them. Until I see fit to update next!**

 **-GGW**


	18. Summer Days

**NOTE: I don't know if all the emails notifications went out the last time I published a chapter, so If you have no recollection of chapter 17 I would backtrack to make sure you didn't miss it. Thank you, friends!  
**

* * *

"And so, from this day and ever on, may you look back on your time in Larkwood Middle…"

Annabeth tuned out the principal's monotonous voice and craned her neck to glance back at Piper, who gave her a teary smile. Annabeth grimaced back weakly. The gym air-conditioning had chosen today to break, and Annabeth had long since stopped trying to unstick the backs of her thighs from the plastic chairs that had been provided for the occasion. Since they had been seated in alphabetical order, Annabeth had ended up in the front row between two boys who had spent the last half hour passing weird looks across her. She was also pretty sure the principal who was droning on at the front meant virtually _none_ of her sappy speech.

She stared longingly at the door, where she could see sunlight leaking in through a crack and lazy summer-green leaves swaying in the warm breeze. Once, the waft had pushed through the crack and drifted across the room to ruffle the bottom of her dress, and she was pretty sure that had been the highlight of her morning.

Piper, of course, had started crying part way through the ceremony, which confused Annabeth because Piper had never given any sort of indication that she actually _liked_ the school whatsoever. But with the speeches the waterworks began, and Piper ran up to take her certificate with mascara dripping down her face. Of course, she had still managed to look beautiful in her baby pink dress that Annabeth could swear was making some of the boys drool a little.

Annabeth herself had been one of the first people to go up to the stage. She had been loaded down with several academic awards and of course her usual place on the honor roll. She'd even somehow managed to achieve the highest overall average in the school. When she had gone up on stage to accept the award she'd made the mistake of glancing back at Thalia, who was cheerfully giving Annabeth the finger. Annabeth had to keep herself from snorting in the middle of her thank-you.

With a start, Annabeth realized that everyone was clapping, and her classmates were all standing up. She stood up hastily, almost knocking over her chair, and struggled to stuff all of her awards into her arms. Seriously, who gives an _atlas_ as an academic award? She turned back towards Piper, who was giving everyone a dainty queen wave with tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. Annabeth caught Thalia's gaze and rolled her eyes.

The crowd filed slowly out of the gym, chattering to their friends and family. Annabeth couldn't help but smile as she watched Sally snatch Percy into her arms across the gym and kiss him firmly on the head before messing his hair and pushing him away. Percy squirmed and tried to look annoyed, but even from across the gym Annabeth could see the happiness, even relief, in his eyes.

Annabeth sighed impatiently as the crowd inched towards the doors. She didn't want to spend another minute trapped inside the sticky school and the ten-pound atlas made her arms feel like they were about to fall off.

"Need a hand?" sniffled Piper's voice from beside her.

Annabeth started, but smiled at her over-dramatic best friend. "Please."

Thalia came up on her other side, smiling her lopsided grin. Though she acted like she didn't really care about graduating from middle school, Annabeth could tell that she was really very happy. Hazel trailed a couple steps behind Thalia, her curls bobbing and her golden eyes shining with tears.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much next year!" she piped. "I really don't know how I'm going to live without you for a whole year."

"You'll be fine, Hazel dear," smiled Piper, making a big show of wiping away her own tears. "You know you'll practically be queen of the school. You're a little gem."

Hazel grinned sunnily. "Oh please, queen McLean. I could never live up to _your_ standards."

Once the four of them had managed to escape the crowded gym, Annabeth saw the front lawn of the school was packed with people. Two long tables had been set up along the fence, and they were groaning with punch and sweets. Piper squealed happily and dragged Hazel off to find the cookies she had baked, insisting that Hazel simply _must_ try one. Or ten.

Annabeth sat down on the steps of the school with a sigh of relief and begun undoing the meticulous straps of the heels she had mistakenly decided to wear. Thalia sat down next to her, a small blissful smile on her lips.

"I don't think I ever thought I'd get here," said Thalia wistfully, cupping her face in her hands and staring off into the distance.

Annabeth paused for a moment to look up at Thalia. "How come?"

Thalia turned back to Annabeth and scanned her. Her analytical blue eyes seemed to cut right through Annabeth, who shivered slightly. "There were—well, problems at home from when I was pretty young. I dropped out of school. And my mom… she didn't exactly try and persuade me to come back. I guess…I guess I just never thought I would come back—that I _could_ come back."

Annabeth blinked over at Thalia. She knew that there was more to the story. There was always more to the story. But Annabeth knew from experience that there was also a time to stop, a time to let secrets stay secrets. Even secrets have their time and place to be told and kept, and that wasn't a mistake Annabeth could ever make again.

"Well you did," she answered, smiling gently. "You came back and you worked hard and you passed _everything_ with flying colours. I know you don't want anyone to know it, but you're a genius, Thalia Grace."

Thalia couldn't seem to suppress her grin as she watched Annabeth, her hands resting on her knees. "You're pretty good yourself, kid."

Annabeth smiled and slipped her shoes off, placing them carefully on the corner of the steps. She stood up and stretched. "We should probably go over and try some of Piper's _divine_ cookies."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "They're going to be horrible, you know."

Thalia's prediction turned out to be accurate; Piper's cookies turned out to be disgusting. She had somehow managed to put a tablespoon of baking soda instead of a teaspoon and the cookies were consequently ridiculously fluffy and had a horrible taste. The others pretended to enjoy them anyways.

As an hour and then two rolled on, the crowd slowly thinned. Annabeth's shoes on the steps were joined by other pairs until the steps were coated with shoes and everyone ran barefoot in the grass. Some of the boys were climbing one of the huge oak trees that stood towering in the corner of the lawn. Annabeth spotted Percy on one of the thick branches right at the top of the tree, holding tightly onto a branch beside him with his feet dangling high above the ground. She gave him a little wave, and to her surprise he waved back. A small flush of unfamiliar warmth rushed through her body.

"Beth! Hey, Beth!"

Annabeth scowled and turned to Piper. "Don't call me Beth."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Fine. _Annabeth_. Are you coming back over to my place so we can get ready for the dance?"

Annabeth glanced down at her dress. "Can't I just go like this?"

Piper looked horrorstruck. "Oh honey, no! You can't wear the same dress to the party and the reception!" Annabeth tried to butt in, but Piper tutted her silent and continued. "You've got to wear something new. I'm thinking something blue, perhaps? Or maybe pink! Green is nice on you, but this is a _dance._ We've got to try something else."

Annabeth shrugged helplessly at Thalia as Piper dragged her away. Thalia had refused point blank to come to the dance, stubbornly ignoring all of Piper's pleas. The drama queen had given Thalia up as a lost case, but decided that Annabeth was her next best target.

They set off for Piper's house, Hazel bouncing along after them. She wasn't invited to the dance, since she was only a seventh grader, but she was perfectly happy to tag along for the preparation anyways.

The second the room to Piper's door shut, the work began. Piper brushed out Annabeth's curly hair and straightened it meticulously, much to Annabeth's chagrin. After forcing her into a bright red dress, she carefully added bold red lipstick to match, along with subtle grey eyeshadow and mascara that made Annabeth's eyes pop. Despite her irritation, Annabeth couldn't help but admire the effect slightly.

Piper herself had changed into a sky blue dress and put on some sort of eyeshadow that seemed to shimmer every time she blinked and made her multihued irises shine in the evening sun.

When they arrived, Piper squealed with excitement and clutched Annabeth's arm before running off to the refreshment table. Annabeth huffed and followed her best friend.

 _This,_ she thought, _is going to be officially awful._

As the night continued, the dance proved to be everything that Annabeth previously thought she hated. Loud music, flashing lights, and crowds of people singing along to outdated pop tunes, munching on stale cookies and hot pizza. But somehow, she found herself having fun, laughing hysterically with Piper and dancing to the pounding music and admiring the old disco lights that swept the gym floor.

The end of the night rolled around quickly, and as the last song began, Annabeth was starting to feel dizzy from the lights and sick from the pizza and soda. The song was slow and soft, and she watched as some of her classmates drifted timidly into each other's arms. Her eyes turned sleepily to the group of boys in the corner who were huddled up giggling about something. One of them broke away and strolled confidently towards Annabeth. She squinted through the dark gym and recognized Leo's curly hair and impish grin.

"Wanna dance?" he asked.

Annabeth, taken completely by surprise, turned beet red and refused Leo more aggressively than she meant to. Piper, who was standing a couple feet away, doubled over with laughter and accepted good-naturedly when Leo asked her instead, still chortling at Annabeth.

Annabeth turned towards the group of boys standing the corner and stuck her tongue out, ignoring the fact that it was a teensy bit immature. Leo's request had obviously been a dare on their part. A voice in the back of Annabeth's head wondered why they hadn't dared Percy instead… and asked her what she would have done if they had.

When the music finally stopped pulsing, Piper and Annabeth padded tiredly out of the gym and towards the doors. Piper's eyes were starry and she chattered away happily about high school and the days to come, leaving Annabeth to walk in blissful silence. When they reached the door, they both came to a halt.

"It's raining," Piper announced, looking a bit shocked.

"I hadn't noticed," Annabeth answered dryly.

"I can't walk home in these shoes," Piper whined. "They'll get all water damaged. Plus, I would totally slip in a puddle."

Annabeth smirked in agreement. "Take them off then."

And so that was how they walked home: barefoot in the rain. Water dripped from the canopy of trees above and soaked Annabeth's sleek hair, making little curls reform as they danced down the street. The two sang and splashed through the gentle June shower, as thunder rumbled joyfully far above. And for a moment – just one quick moment – Annabeth realized how incredibly happy she was to be alive.

* * *

It only took Percy about five minutes to decide he hated planes.

He'd always wanted to fly… some of his friends loved travelling and flying and raved about it all the time. Jason in particular, loved to talk about how he felt so happy on planes, disconnected from the earth, just himself and not attached to anything. Of course, every time this happened Percy would tell him that he should marry an airplane… and then Leo would ask if 'airplane' was a nickname for Piper.

Needless to say, Jason usually restrained himself from talking about planes.

It didn't take very long for Percy to decide he disagreed with Jason's analogy. He had never been on a plane; Sally sometimes mentioned how his grandfather had died in a plane crash a long time ago, and how she had since avoided planes. Even so, Percy had always wanted to experience flying. But he thought maybe once would be enough. Once counted as an experience, right?

It had been very early that morning, the day after the dance, when Sally shook Percy awake. He glared at her sleepily, but she merely smiled. "Pack a bag, sweetie. We're going on a trip."

And so, without question, Percy packed a bag and they headed to the airport.

The two stood under the giant billboard that displayed all of the flight times, staring up at it with messily stuffed bags in hand.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," said Sally, still gazing thoughtfully at the billboard. "We're going to close our eyes and think of a number."

Percy looked at her questioningly. She smiled and continued.

"We are going to close our eyes, pick and number, and then when we open them… we'll have our flight all picked."

And so they did. They closed their eyes and picked a number.

"North Carolina?" asked Percy dubiously.

Sally grinned. "Come on, Percy dear. We're going to NC!"

And that's how Percy ended up sitting on a plane to a place he'd never had any particular desire to visit. But he was excited all the same. It was an adventure, like in the story books. He was going somewhere new and exciting, and he had no idea what was ahead.

He just wished that he could get _off_ the plane and get _on_ with the adventure.

They ended up in a small city called Asheville, and a taxi drove them to a motel where Sally had somehow managed to make reservations. They arrived a little while later in a small town called Flat Rock. The motel was a tiny, cozy little place with lots of ancient-looking cushions and a friendly old lady as the manager. She smiled at Percy, ruffled his hair, and gave him cookies. She was the kind of old lady that made Percy wish that he had a grandmother.

Percy had never seen a motel in the middle of such a cute little suburban area. The trees made archways of big green leaves over the streets, and all of the storefronts looked like something out of a storybook; small, old and sweet, despite the fact that they were painted in bright colors. The motel was a dark blue, but the stores that surrounded it were bright hues of magenta pink, bottle green, sunshine yellow, and bright blue. Ivy climbed up the sides of some of the bigger ones. Percy couldn't help but think that they had ended up in a very nice place.

Sally dropped her bag on the soft carpet and collapsed onto her bed with a sigh. "Travelling is so tiring. I think I'll take a little nap. Percy? Why don't you rest a bit too?"

Percy grinned. "I'm not tired. Maybe I'll go for a walk."

Sally nodded absently, her eyes closed. "Alright. Don't go too far. Try not to get lost. And make sure you're back in a couple of hours."

Percy rolled his eyes. "You're such a mom." Sally opened her eyes and gave him a scary look. He quickly mumbled, "I will," and scurried out the door.

So, Percy hopped down the apartment steps and wandered off. He passed a restaurant painted bottle-green called Honey and Salt, and sniffed appreciatively at the scents that wafted out into the summer air. The sun shone brightly, and the lawns were in various states of tidiness. Percy carefully plucked a lilac blossom from a bush beside the sidewalk and played with it absently as he walked. The sky was gloriously blue, and the soft sound of the wind was kind and calming, Percy almost thought that he could hear running water somewhere in the distance.

He crossed the wide street quickly, waving awkwardly at a few cars who honked at him. He continued to follow the little sidewalk until it entered a small parking lot surrounded by trees. The sign said _'Carl Sandburg Home'_. Percy was sure he had heard that name before. Maybe in English class?

The sidewalk continued in twisting curves through the woods, and Percy caught a glimpse of a lake shimmering in the sun. He walked faster, listening to the birds chirping, the frogs croaking, and the water that lapped gently at the shore.

He closed his eyes for just a moment to take it all in.

Percy's foot hit something hard and he stumbled, sprawling across the ground, his knees and hands scraping against the cold concrete. He groaned as he tried to pick himself up.

"Hey!" said a girl's indignant voice.

Percy looked up. There was a girl about his own age sitting beside him, glaring at him with a piece of chalk in hand.

The first thing that Percy noticed was her hair. It fell just past her shoulders in a mess of wild, frizzy, bright red curls. They were small and spirally, and stuck out of her head at all angles.

The second thing he saw was her freckles. She seemed to have millions of them on her pale skin, all over her creamy face and arms and bare shoulders. Her bright green eyes narrowed furiously.

"What?" groaned Percy, sitting up and examining his hands.

"You smudged my drawing!" The girl gestured indignantly to the chalk drawing on the pavement. Percy looked down.

He had to stifle a gasp. For several feet down on both sides, the rough sidewalk was covered in beautiful chalk artwork. The theme seemed to be Disney, and Percy wasn't even sure if they were really drawings, they looked so realistic.

He swallowed. "Well, who plays with sidewalk chalk anyways? What are you, five?"

The girl had the audacity to look perfectly unaffected by his words. "You have a flower in your hair," she said coolly.

Percy's hand flew to his ear, where he hastily yanked out the lilac flower he'd been playing with. He'd forgotten that's where he put it for safekeeping. His face burning, Percy threw the flower over his shoulder.

The girl chuckled, going back to her chalk.

"Your drawings are, um, really nice," said Percy, in way of changing the subject.

The girl smirked at him. "Thanks. You're getting blood on them."

Percy looked down. Sure enough, a small trickled of blood dripped from his knee. "Well, you _could_ offer me a bandage."

The girl gave him a little pout. "Aw. Does da wittle baby need a bandage? Did the wittle baby get _hurt?_ "

Percy smiled sweetly. "Yes, please, that would be lovely."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Wait here. Don't steal my chalk." She pulled herself to her feet and ran to a bench a little ways down, where a colourful backpack covered in badges and buttons rested.

"I don't want your chalk!" Percy called after her.

He waited until she was busy digging around in the backpack before standing up to admire the girl's chalk drawings some more. He had to admit—they _were_ pretty incredible. It was a montage of different Disney movies; complete with smiling characters, bright colours and detailed little vines that were carefully woven throughout the drawings. The lanterns from _Tangled_ were also dotted through the art like little beacons.

Percy was still staring at the chalk creations when the girl came back a minute later with the bandage in hand. She smirked at his awed expression.

"I thought you were too _old_ for chalk drawings," she teased.

Percy ignored her. "Is that _Finding Nemo_?"

She sat down again beside him and handed him about five bandages. "Obviously."

Percy grinned at her. "I love _Finding Nemo_!"

"Of course you do. Who doesn't?"

"People who haven't seen it, I suppose."

"Well they're crazy. It's a classic."

Percy blinked at her for a second. "What's your name?"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," she answered promptly. "Yours?"

"Um, Percy. Percy Jackson."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare scrutinized him carefully. "Do you live around here? I don't think that I've ever seen you before."

"Oh, no," Percy said, "We're just visiting. Me and my mom… well we kind of decided to take a trip somewhere random. I didn't even know this morning that we were going anywhere. We just somehow ended up here."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare looked up towards the busy street hidden by the trees, where the faint sounds of cars and the chatter of people rumbled by. She looked like she was searching for something. "Here of all places. Have you seen this place? It's the most boring, pointless place I have ever seen. Why would you come here?"

Percy smiled a little. "I like it," he admitted. "It's peaceful. It's kind of like a rest from everything. It's really pretty here. And it, um, smells nice."

Rachel stared at him. "You're a dork."

"Annabeth always said that," said Percy thoughtlessly.

"Who's Annabeth?" asked Rachel.

Percy felt his cheeks light up. "Just one of my, um, friends."

Rachel clicked her tongue disbelievingly. "Hey… have you seen the river yet?"

Percy shook his head. "I've only been here for half an hour."

Rachel instantly leapt to her feet. "The lake is where everyone comes, but the river is hidden. You have to see it! It's the best part of this notoriously dry little town. It's my thinking spot. I like to go there to read. And draw. And paint. Sometimes I even just sit there."

She quickly gathered her chalk pieces and tossed them into the box before leading the way up the winding sidewalk, down to where a white bridge spanned the lake and the dam. The lake coursed over the dam, creating a tall waterfall and a river that flowed far below them.

"That's just the creek from the lake," Rachel answered his unspoken question. "There's a lot of snakes in that one, so I don't go down there much."

She crossed the bridge and after taking a quick look around, she ducked through a hole in the bushes, motioning for Percy to follow. He did, coming out onto a small gravel path surrounded by trees. The two walked along side-by-side to wherever Rachel was leading them.

It didn't take Percy long to decide that Rachel was a talker. She chatted happily about nature and her art, and Percy found himself looking down at her bare feet and brightly-painted toenails as they walked. It was almost refreshing… having a friend who didn't know anything about his life or his past, and maybe only trusted him because of their shared knowledge in _Finding Nemo._ He decided that however long they decided to stay in this quaint little town, he would make friends with this girl, with her fiery hair and personality to match.

He liked the way she had a long name that you just _had_ to say all of. He liked her sarcasm and her bright drawings, and the way she used big words. He liked the freckles that were clearly visible on her arms and shoulders, courtesy of the strappy green tank top she wore. In that moment, Percy decided that, just for a few weeks, he would forget all about Annabeth and the confusion she brought, and become friends with Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

After about five minutes of walking, the faint sound of running water began to intensify. Percy immediately felt his ears perk up, and he looked up hopefully. There had always been something about water that he had loved.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare abruptly turned to the left, onto an even smaller dirt trail. With a slight start, Percy followed. Rachel reached the edge of a patch of trees, and carefully lifted a branch with her spare hand, ducking under it and disappearing carefully into the brush. Percy tried to follow. Her branch swung back, hitting him in the face and knocking him over. Rachel looked back as he was standing back up.

"Come on, dork!" she called.

Percy rolled his eyes and pushed into the brush, careful to avoid walking directly behind Rachel. The branches still managed to annoy him, poking and scraping into his skin as he walked by. Five minutes of pushing through prickly trees brought him out into the sunshine again, where he scratched at a scrape and looked reproachfully at Rachel.

"How did you get through there without getting a single scratch?"

Rachel gave him a sad little smile. "Once you've been here for a while you figure these things out." She turned away from him and raised her arms towards the little river that bubbled through the clearing, her pale, freckled face brightening again. "But look! I found this place a few years ago when we were here a few years ago. I got bored so I was exploring. Isn't it great?"

Percy had to admit that it was. It was a very small clearing, but it was really very pretty. It was small and silent; Percy didn't know when the last time he'd been so far away from traffic noises was. A few rays of sunlight managed to sneak through the canopy and fell onto the river like in a fairy tale. The trees overhead managed to keep most of the little clearing in cool shade, and they were covered with little flowers Percy didn't recognize that drifted down into the river. Percy wasn't entirely sure how an open clearing managed to be covered by a blanket of leaves overhead, but he supposed maybe the trees had unusually long branches. He turned back to Rachel, who was already walking away, towards a big, flat rock by the river in one corner of the clearing.

Percy padded happily after her, taking in the sight. "You're right. This place is really nice."

She gave him a little smile. "It is, isn't it? I like to sit here," she added, pointing to the big flat rock. "I usually bring a blanket or something to sit on if I plan to stay for long."

She sat down on the rock and began to take off her shoes and socks. Percy followed suit, and together they dipped their feet into the cool water of the wide, bubbling creek. Percy instantly drew back his feet with a gasp. Rachel giggled.

"Wh-why is it so _cold?_ " he asked. "It's _summer!_ Shouldn't it be warmer."

Once again, Rachel rolled her eyes. "Of course it's cold, dork. This stream comes down from the mountains. One of the other summers we were here, I tried to follow it all the way to the mountain. My grandad caught me before I got there, though. But at any rate, rivers don't sit in the sun and warm up like lakes do. They move, so the sun can't warm them as easily." She grinned, showing slightly crooked white teeth under thin, pale-pink lips. "I thought that was, like, common knowledge."

Percy gave her a playful little scowl, carefully slipping his feet back into the freezing water. After a minute he realized it was kind of nice.

"Why'd you bring your chalk?" he asked Rachel, who was rummaging around in her small, yellow box of chalk.

"I like to draw on the rock here," she said without looking up. "It's a fun place to draw sort of privately and not worry about who sees or where you drop stuff. I call it nature's canvas. That's my name for this place, actually. Nature's Canvas. I come here pretty often."

"I don't get it. Why do you like drawing with chalk? It goes away so quickly. I mean, all of your drawings are gone the second it rains."

She finally looked up from her chalk, smirking softly like she knew the secrets of the world. "That's not art for me," she said softly, so that Percy had to strain to hear her over the chattering of the creek below. "Art isn't saving everything you draw and trying to preserve every bit of your creation. I do art for _fun_. I'm not trying to be famous or rich—I definitely don't want to be rich—so who needs to see my drawings anyways? It's kind of fun, they're just sort of private, and they're —well, _mine_. Besides," she gave Percy a little sideways grin, "if they're _that_ good I can always take pictures."

Percy laughed. Rachel joined in too, throwing back her bright red head. Percy decided that he liked her laugh. It wasn't the typical storybook wind chime tinkle of laughter, but loud and hearty. Rachel laughed until she doubled over, tears dripping from her eyes, which made Percy laugh harder, until they had collapsed on top of each other, wheezing.

For a long time they lay on Nature's Canvas rock, laughing until they'd forgotten what was funny, letting the gentle rays of sunlight warm their faces as the trees ruffled gently overhead, letting their flowers flutter to the ground. Beside them, the creek laughed along, its voice full of splash and glee.

Percy couldn't remember the last time he had been so happy.

* * *

Percy groaned, turning over to look at the clock. 6:37am. Percy rubbed his eyes, trying to remember why the heck he had woken up so early when it happened again. Three quick, firm knocks sounded on the door. Percy groaned again.

"Percy?" he heard his mother slur sleepily from the other bed. "Can you get that?"

Percy sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He stumbled to the door, rubbing his eyes, and threw it open just as the person started to knock again. The person behind the door stumbled forwards, and Percy caught them, trying to ignore the mane of red hair that suddenly filled his face.

"Rachel?"

"Oh hi, Percy!" She grinned brightly. "I was going to ask… wait. Did you just wake up?"

"Yeah, duh," Percy grumbled. "It's six-thirty in the morning!"

"Is it?" asked Rachel distractedly, trying to peer around him into the hotel room. "Funny, I assumed it was later. I've been up for hours. Or at least it's felt like hours."

"I—" said Percy, at a bit of a loss for words. "How did you get here?"

"Um, I knocked? Oh, you meant the motel. Ms. Alfie told me which room you guys were in. She loves me. She even gave me cookies, want one?" Percy shook his head, but took a cookie anyways. Rachel grinned. "So it's like, really early, apparently, but you're awake now so do you wanna do something fun with me?"

Percy looked back at his mom, who stared at him through confused, bleary eyes. "Uh… I guess. Can I at least get dressed first?"

Rachel Elizabeth Dare rolled her eyes. "Obviously. I refuse to be seen anywhere with you in those baby blue pyjamas. Though they do match your eyes wonderfully."

"Um, thanks?" Percy shook his head, trying to clear it. "Wait here."

With that, he shut the door in her face and rushed back over to his suitcase. Across the room, his mother's head hung off the side of her bed as she gazed sleepily at him. "Who's… that?" she asked, and Percy smiled.

"That's Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I met her yesterday, and we agreed to hang out more this morning."

"This early?" Sally groaned, falling back onto her pillows.

"Well…"

Sally merely smiled at Percy, and reached out an arm to clumsily stroke the side of his face. "Go have fun, you silly boy. Try and come back for lunch so your old mother doesn't get _too_ lonely."

"I will," Percy promised, quickly kissing her cheek.

Five minutes later, Percy opened the door again. Rachel Elizabeth Dare did not turn to face him, but instead continued staring at the opposite wall and tapping her foot impatiently. "I see you're back now."

"You're not looking at me."

She finally turned back to him, a big grin on her face. "Now I am. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah? Where are we going?"

" _Shh_. It's a surprise."

Percy followed Rachel down the steps of the motel deck and into the cool, dewy morning. She skipped a few paces ahead of him, and Percy couldn't help but notice the paint stains and marker doodles that covered her old jeans. It made them look nice, Percy decided, simple and artsy. Today her black tank top was covered by a dark green hoodie, and she wore rainbow high-tops that she had probably painted herself.

They walked in silence for several minutes. Rachel seemed lost in thought and gazed dreamily up into the sky, still a washed-out blue covered by the early morning mist. Eventually, they turned a corner onto a little street Percy had not yet discovered. He instantly thought that he had stepped into another decade.

The street looked like it hadn't been touched in years. The road was cracked and bumpy and the streetlights had a distinctly antique look about them. Even the cars parked along the side of the road looked like something out of an old movie.

Rachel suddenly turned off the sidewalk and into a little store, that, upon second glance, appeared to be some sort of little diner. The back wall was covered in brightly coloured posters that listed different kinds of ice cream, milkshakes, burgers and fries. Even the prices looked like something out of an old movie, and Percy realized with delight that even he could afford them. The entire thing looked for all the world like something out of an old Archie Comic. A thin, old woman stood behind the counter, a smile on her face. She had fluffy gray hair that looked rather wiry and almost like tiny snakes all over her head. A white apron covered her faded jeans, and she held a plate of bacon and eggs in one hand.

"Hey, Auntie Em!" Rachel announced their presence as the bell over the door chimed cheerfully.

The lady gave Rachel a wide grin. "Well hello, Rachel. I haven't seen you here in a while. How've you been? You're here early now, aren't you?"

Rachel cheerfully returned the smile. "Oh, you know me. Once the sun's up I'm not going back to sleep. And I've been good, actually. Yourself?"

Auntie Em reached behind the counter and grabbed a milkshake glass, half turning around to fill it up. "Oh, you know, it's been the usual. Things don't change much around here. I mean, dear me, the _prices_ haven't even changed since… well, I don't even remember when. Here," she added, handing the milkshake to Rachel. "A shake on the house for my favourite customer."

Rachel took it with a grinned thanks, and pulled herself up onto one of the red cushioned stools at the counter. She patted the one beside her without looking back at Percy, and he pulled himself up.

"This is Percy," she announced. "He's visiting."

Auntie Em sent a smile towards Percy, handing him a straw from behind the counter. "A pleasure to meet you, Percy. Here's a straw to mooch off some of the lady's drink. I'm sure she's got some to spare."

Percy laughed and reached over to stick his straw into Rachel's milkshake, ignoring her exclamation of protest. He took a sip. It was the creamiest, richest thing that he had even tasted, and he had to close his eyes for a second to enjoy it.

"Dork," muttered Rachel, moodily slurping the milkshake.

"You two planning to order anything else?" asked Auntie Em.

Rachel ordered them some blueberry waffles, which were about the size of Percy's head, and, to his delight, actually blue. A swirl of whip cream and a few fresh blueberries topped them off, and Percy wasted no time in drowning his in syrup and stuffing them into his mouth. He didn't know if he'd ever tasted anything so delicious.

"So what's your thing?" asked Rachel between bites, after Auntie Em had left them to go help other customers.

Percy had to chew and swallow his way through an awkward silence before answering. "My thing?"

"Yeah! Your thing! Like, my thing is art. I'm always drawing. Some people like singing or dancing or football or whatever the heck else you could be doing."

"Oh." Percy chewed thoughtfully. "I…I don't really have a thing, I guess."

"What do you mean? What do you do with your spare time, then?"

Percy shrugged.

Rachel swallowed. "Okay. We are going to find you a thing. I know just how to find you a thing. Close your eyes. Like that, good. No, no peeking. Okay, now I'm going to ask you questions and you have to respond as fast as you can, no thinking. Okay? Good. What's your favourite colour?"

"Blue."

"Favourite food?"

"Blue chocolate chip cookies."

"Oo-kay, that's _slightly_ weird, but I'm not judging, I swear. Moving on. Um, favourite movie?"

"Finding Nemo."

"Right, obviously. Favourite activity?"

"Swimming."

"There it is," smiled Rachel.

Percy barely heard her over the swarm of memories that instantly came to the surface after years of hiding. He'd forgotten about the days at the beach. Before his father had died, Percy had practically lived at the beach. He vaguely remembered spending all of his time splashing in the waves and rolling in the sand because of Poseidon's job. He remembered feeling safe and happy with the water and the fish and the waves.

For just a brief second, he remembered his father's chuckle and the way he smelled like the sea. A million visions of beaches and sand and a tiny, curly-haired blond girl who built sandcastles beside him rushed to his mind, and he blinked, trying to listen to what Rachel was saying.

He jerked his brain back to the conversation with a slight shake of his head. "What did you say?"

"Swimming is your thing," Rachel repeated. "Or at least, it could be."

"I—I used to love swimming when I was little," Percy admitted. "I haven't done it for a long time, though."

Rachel scrutinized him. Percy found himself feeling like she was looking right through him. It was a little creepy; Percy shivered.

"What grade are you going into?" she asked suddenly.

"Um, ninth?"

"Does your high school have a swim team?"

"Not sure," Percy answered, slightly puzzled.

"Well if it does, you're joining it."

"What?" he squawked.

"Promise?" Rachel demanded, holding up her pinky finger.

Percy hesitated, then held up his own pinky and shook hers, sighing. "Okay… I promise."

Rachel smiled, in a satisfied sort of way. "Good. Hey! How 'bout we go swimming down at Nature's Canvas tomorrow? It'd be good practice for you. And there's a perfectly _lovely_ swimming hole a little ways down past the rock."

"But it's so cold!" Percy protested weakly, knowing already that he would be swimming the next day.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Suck it up, buttercup. You get used to it."

Percy grinned reluctantly. "If you say so."

And just like that, Percy had something to do almost every day of his stay in the little town. He and Rachel became fast friends, and she had a way of drawing things out of him until he almost got the impression that she knew him better than he knew himself. It was a comfortable sort of friendship.

She took him all around her little town; most mornings they met at Nature's Canvas or the motel, then they adventured. To Auntie Em's Diner, down to the swimming hole in the creek where they swam in the freezing water. As they splashed and laughed in the freezing water, Percy realized he loved every minute he was in the water.

Rachel took him hiking up Glassy Mountain one day, and they spent nearly an hour lost, before realizing they were only a couple hundred feet away from the parking lot the whole time. Sometimes Percy lay on the ground and told stories, while Rachel painted or drew pictures with her chalk. Even the days that it rained—sheets of water that soaked everyone to the bone while thunder boomed joyously overhead, Rachel dragged him outside to dance in the rain, which Percy enjoyed enough to receive another 'dork' from her.

It was before he knew it that the six weeks he and his mom had eventually decided to spend had passed. Percy pushed his way through the trees to Nature's Canvas his last morning to find Rachel, sitting on her rock staring off into to space. When Percy sat down beside her, she didn't turn with her usual smile.

"Hi," said Percy.

The corners of Rachel's mouth turned up just a tiny bit. "Hey, dork."

"What's up?"

Rachel sighed and shifted her weight. She looked on the verge of speaking when she closed her mouth and shook her head. "Nothing."

"No, seriously. What is it?"

She sighed again. "It's just – my dad. He—well he wants me to go to some fancy finishing school or whatever. He keeps telling me that I should be 'grateful for the opportunities that I get' and that 'he has the money' and blah blah blah and he just doesn't _get,"_ she paused to take a huge breath, "he just doesn't get that it's not what I want. I want to keep going to _my_ school with _my_ friends with art classes and just – _ugh_. I mean… I know I'm not going to be an artist or anything, but I'd at least like to have the chance to choose, you know?"

Percy nodded and chewed the inside of his lip, unsure of how to respond. During his entire stay, he had only managed to pick up a couple of things on her parents. From the little hints that Rachel had let slip, Percy knew she was an only child and her parents were very wealthy. They payed very little attention to Rachel, and she spent every waking moment wandering through the town and the woods, and her parents never worried about her.

He thought it was incredibly sad. His mom worried about him even when he ran to the store to pick up milk, and half the time she wouldn't let him leave the house without a hat. She had even joined the kids on a few picnics and hikes during their stay. His mom was the one thing that stayed constant in his life, and he didn't know what he would do without her.

Percy glanced at Rachel softly, breaking the silence. "I think you could become an artist."

Rachel looked up at him, eyelashes damp. He'd never seen her so close to crying before. "Do you… do you really?"

Percy nodded vigorously. "I really, really do. Your art is amazing. I'm serious. I've never seen anything like it. You should never stop painting or drawing, or anything because you are seriously awesome at it. Seriously." He stopped, suddenly aware that he was rambling.

Rachel gave him a little grin. "You're such a dork," she said softly.

Percy smiled back. "I am, aren't I?"

"You know it."

Percy smiled and shifted, pulling off his shoes to dip his feet into the creek beside hers.

"You're leaving today, aren't you?" she asked.

Percy nodded.

She sighed. "It's too bad. It was really fun having a—a friend for a little while this summer. I never get to see any of my friends here. I… I was glad to have one this time."

Percy nodded again. "Me too. Nice to have a friend who doesn't judge me by my past."

"She doesn't, you know."

"What?"

"Your Annabeth. She doesn't judge you by your past. You just haven't given her another chance."

Percy shook his head. "You don't know her like I—used to."

Rachel gave him a sad, sideways smile. "Oh, but maybe I do."

Percy sighed and looked away. "I—I just don't want to go back to all of it. I just want to stay here forever. I like it here."

Rachel laughed bitterly. "No, you don't. Trust me. The second I'm gone you'll want to be out of this little town, and never come back. You'll realize what a lonely place it is."

"I don't think I will."

"Wanna bet?" She exhaled slowly through her nose. "Close your eyes."

"What…?"

"Just…do it."

And so Percy closed his eyes. For a moment there was nothing but the quiet of the birds chirping and the creek gurgling and the trees rustling in the summer breeze. And then he felt a pair of lips pressed against his own, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare was kissing him and it was so, so _strange_ but—but just kind of… amazing. Percy almost opened his eyes, but suddenly the warmth of her lips against his vanished and everything was quiet again.

He waited for one, two, three counts and then opened his eyes hesitantly. The clearing was silent and empty; the only sign that the girl with the frizzy red hair had ever been there the smudged chalk drawings on the rock that he sat on. And after a minute of sitting there, all alone on Nature's Canvas rock, he realized he could feel it: the bittersweet loneliness of the little town that was only concealed by a thin veil. The town was quiet, old and lonely, like it was trying to hold onto a life of the past, but there was something about it that was slowly dying. It was doing it slowly, peacefully, gracefully even, but it was, as sure as anything.

And all at once Percy knew that he was ready to go home.

It hadn't been the town that made him happy, but Rachel Elizabeth Dare herself. And now that she was gone…

Percy stood up with a sigh and captured one last glimpse of the bubbling creek in his mind—one last reminder of an amazing summer. Slowly, he made his way back out through the trees and onto the road. He knew that had been the end of Rachel's time with him, and he treasured it. The moment was precious, completely unaffected by the knowledge of the future.

As he walked back down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets, cheeks still warm and bare feet damp with dew, lyrics flew through his brain.

 _Summer days, drifting away, but oh, those summer nights._

* * *

 **A/N: Spoiler alert: you haven't seen the last of Rachel Elizabeth Dare.** _  
_

 **So I'm going to nickname this chapter the chapter of references, because there were several. (References/inspirations, whatever.) How many of them can you find? And how many of you can name the quote at the end? Also what do you guys think of Rachel? Personally, I've never shared the hate people seem to have for her... I mean she was just a girl who liked a boy. The boy was just destined to end up with someone else. So what did you think of her here? Loved, hated? I like to see your opinions people.**

 **ALSO my usual thanks to my favourite Rachel for her terrific beta-ing skills and also for finding me an adequate (and also existing) place to put Percy's vacation that was very useful. Everybody give her a round of applause! *claps in a circle* Also shout-out to my lovely friend Mia just for being generally awesome and a wonderful person. You should totally go check out her story iSpy if you haven't read it before because it is GENIUS. (Her account is herecomesthepun you're welcome Mia.)**

 **Anyways, tank you very much all for reading this very extra long chapter (oops?) and leave me one of your lovely reviews if you can because I worked much hours on this chapter and I would like to know all your thoughts thank you friends.**

 **-GGW**


	19. Stuborness and Sarcasm

A raindrop fell into Annabeth's outstretched palm.

She touched it curiously. It was cold rain for September. With a shiver, Annabeth tightened her rain coat around her and flipped her palm over to glance down at her watch. 8:43.

She looked up and sighed in a mixture in exasperation and relief. There was Piper, running towards her, an open backpack slung across her shoulder and her hair streaming out behind her in long, chocolate-coloured waves. She skidded to a halt beside Annabeth, who stood tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh, Piper! How nice to see you! And oh look, you're only…" she glanced down at her watch for effect, " _eighteen_ minutes late. How lovely."

Piper groaned slightly. "Oh, shut up. Like you were here at 8:25 on the dot."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "Piper, I was here at _exactl_ _y_ 8:25. I'm a very punctual person. I thought _you_ of all people would know that."

Piper threw her a dirty look as she adjusted her headband and began walking again. "Well you don't have to brag about it."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and followed Piper with a skip in her step. "Well, I would think that even you would make _some_ sort of effort to be on time for the first day of high school. Remind me, is this the same Piper that's been talking about the wonders of high school _nonstop_ all summer long?"

Piper scowled slightly, though Annabeth could see the sparkle in her eyes. "Oh my god, you are so annoying. There was a major crisis, okay?"

"Hmm, like… let me guess. You couldn't find the right shade of nail-polish?"

Her peripheral vision caught Piper instinctively closing her fists, probably so Annabeth couldn't see her freshly painted nails. Annabeth took this as confirmation. With a slight grin, she trailed behind Piper to close her backpack.

Piper squirmed away just as Annabeth finished zipping up the last pocket. "You are such a _mom._ "

Annabeth winked. "I take pride in it, darling."

On the last day of eighth grade, Piper had forced Annabeth to make a pact. Every day, they would walk to school together. They would meet at the same junction at the same time, and whoever cancelled first had to buy the other lunch. So far, Annabeth thought that she was winning. The walk to their new high school wasn't very far, only about ten minutes, but Annabeth found herself being hurried along anyways.

"Ugh, hurry _up_ , Annabeth. We don't want to be late to our first official day as freshmen."

"You were the one who showed up eighteen minutes late," Annabeth reminded her patiently. "And stop calling us freshmen. It sounds weird."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You and your _weird_ _words_. Nobody cares, Annabeth." She ignored the clearly affronted look on Annabeth's face.

As they grew closer to the building, Annabeth could see that their new school was huge. It was probably at least twice the size of the little middle school they had gone to for three years, and Annabeth almost had to crane her neck to see the top.

The building was roughly square, and the outer walls were built with dusty red bricks. Ivy snaked up the walls in long, wavy lines. The school was obviously an older building, judging by the way the bricks crumbled at the edges and the ivy seemed to have etched cracks into the walls. Annabeth predicted about a hundred years, but she made a mental note to look it up when she got home. There were four sets of stairs leading up to the front doors, and with a slightly nervous gulp Annabeth followed Piper up the stairs.

Annabeth had never been much of one to be scared of new places. She had never been very sentimental or nostalgic, and she couldn't help but enjoy a bit of refreshing change every now and then.

But at that moment Annabeth very dearly wished she was back at the little old middle school.

"C'mon, Annabeth! I still have to pick my schedule up from the office," Piper called. Annabeth followed her, trying her best to look confident.

The hallway was long, with dull yellow walls and faded, wooden classroom doors. It bustled with people, laughter at being reunited, groans at the new school year. Someone's shoulder hit Annabeth's, sending her stumbling. She gave a little squawk in protest.

Out of nowhere, Piper's hand lurched out and wrapped around her wrist, dragging her through the mob of students. They pushed their way into the big office, and Annabeth tapped her foot nervously, glancing around as Piper chatted cheerfully to the sober-looking secretary behind the counter.

"Okay, which homeroom are you in?" asked Piper, smoothing out her schedule as they pushed their way back out of the office.

Annabeth pulled her own schedule out to check. "Um, Mrs. Rhoda. Room 27. You?"

"Oh, thank goodness, same!" Piper squealed, clutching at Annabeth's arm. "How great is this? We get to sit together in homeroom every day! I swear, this is the best thing that's happened all day."

"You've only been awake for an hour," Annabeth reminded her dryly. Piper stuck out her tongue.

Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the homeroom. Despite her hatred of nostalgia, the classroom gave Annabeth a strong sense of home. The classroom itself was as plain and dingy as any classroom, but she recognized many of the students from her classes from the years before, and the familiar faces that popped out of the crowd made her smile.

Leo and Jason were sharing a table in the corner, and Leo had his feet propped up on the table and had busied himself by throwing paper airplanes at the back of the head of the girl in front of him. Annabeth smirked at Jason's ill-hid amused expression. Scanning the room, Annabeth spotted a couple of other familiar people, but realized with a start of guilt that she had forgotten the majority of their names.

She took in a sharp breath and crossed the classroom to take the seat beside Piper, who had sat down behind a dark haired boy in a skull-and-crossbones t-shirt. He sat alone with his chin in his hands, and stared wistfully at the board.

Just as the final bell rung, the teacher waltzed in, and Annabeth couldn't help but catch her breath slightly. Their teacher was _insanely_ gorgeous. Annabeth decided right there and then that she was probably the most gorgeous person she had ever seen.

She had long, dark curls that fell down past her waist, bright, kaleidoscope eyes like Piper's that seemed to shimmer as she moved. She was tall, with long legs and subtle curves and beamed at the class with pearly white teeth.

"Good morning class!" she chirped, and Annabeth cringed. Even her _voice_ was beautiful. "I'm Ms. Rhoda, but you dears can call me Ms. R if you'd like. Well, Rhoda's really short for another name, but that one is so embarrassing that you better not know it. That's right. Well, I am absolutely delighted to be teaching you English this semester. Shame, I tried to get them to add a French class, but they simply would not listen. It is such a pity, I would very much love to teach you all _la langue d'amour._ Since it's your first day at this school, I would like to start with some name games, alright? Okay. Now let's start with attendance…"

Annabeth looked over at Piper and raised an eyebrow. Piper looked like she was trying to stifle laughter. Somehow, Ms. Rhoda had managed to stun everyone so speechless that no one had groaned about the dreaded name games.

Piper leaned into Annabeth, and her breath tickled Annabeth's ear. "It really is a pity. I would sure love to learn some French. That accent is _divine_."

Annabeth broke down into silent giggles, burying her head in her arms. She heard Piper join in quietly beside her. She wondered just how red her face was when, a moment later, Ms. Rhoda called her name for attendance.

* * *

Annabeth dropped the last pencil into her bag just as the bell rung. She smiled and rose from her seat, laughing when Piper leapt up from beside her and ran off to tap Leo on the shoulder and then duck round the other side of him. Annabeth couldn't help but wonder how Leo _still_ always fell for that. She smiled at Piper's blush when Jason laughed along.

Scooping her bag up and slinging it over her shoulder, Annabeth trailed behind Jason, Piper and Leo, half-listening to their conversation, half-day-dreaming about what kind of snack she could have once she got home.

Suddenly, something Jason was saying caught her attention.

"…I am _not_ kidding. Percy Jackson had some sort of summer fling, I'm telling you!"

Annabeth pushed her way into the group. "What about Percy?" She tried to sound nonchalant, but Piper's knowing smirk made her sound more anxious then she meant to.

"Oh didn't you hear?" asked Jason. "Apparently Percy went on some summer vacation to North Carolina and met some girl. It's super weird though; he refuses to talk about it or anything. Leo thinks they _totally_ made out."

Annabeth tried to ignore the painful thud in her chest as the group moved on to something other than Percy's love life. She swallowed a couple times, then glanced around desperately for an escape. Bathroom. Perfect. She muttered something incoherent to Piper and slipped out of the group and into the bathroom. She managed to close and lock a stall door before the tears came.

She didn't understand it. Why would she react so strongly to something like this? It was a minor thing, something that had happened to one of her friends… no, one of her acquaintances, even. She shouldn't care – she _didn't_ care.

The problem was, she knew she _did._

 _So what is it?_ Annabeth wondered, carefully sitting down on the toilet seat and taking a shaky breath. Percy had hung out with another girl all summer. Percy had probably _kissed_ her. Why did the little bit of gossip bother her so much?

It hit her like a brick.

She _liked_ Percy, that was why. Annabeth had never once admitted it to herself. Not when she got butterflies every time the phone rang and she knew it was him. Not when he ended their friendship and broke her heart forever. Not when they sat alone in her cozy room, faces so close she could see the specks of blue like the sea that swam in his eyes.

She shivered, remembering that night, how the March wind had howled tragically outside the window. How the tiny lamp had flickered like candlelight. It had been the last time she and Percy had been truly _close_.

She had liked Percy, and finally admitting it to herself was like a weight off her shoulders. She had liked him so much it had ached to look at him, and yet –

She didn't anymore.

She had gotten over him in the past year. Her thoughts of him had thinned, and though there was still a part of her that secretly itched to have their friendship back, it had quieted. Maybe it was the absence of contact. People always said that 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' but Annabeth really didn't believe it. It took space and time and _absence_ to get over somebody, and Annabeth realized that was just what she had been doing.

Then why did it still hurt so much when she heard that Percy's lips had touched another's?

After a minute it hit her, and she buried her head in her hands to keep from laughing at herself.

Or maybe from sobbing. Quite possibly both.

She had been best friends with Percy for years. They had been so close. And from when she was little, Annabeth had always dreamed that they would be each other's first kiss. It would be special. Even when their friendship had broken, a tiny part of her had held onto that dream, and now it was just… _shattered_.

Annabeth cleared her throat and wiped the stubborn tears away from her eyes. For the past three years she had kept the tiny door in her heart that belonged to Percy Jackson open, in the very slight hopes that maybe, just maybe, he would come back to claim it. Now she closed it, locked it, and threw the key far, far away. Percy could stay a friendly acquaintance, but never again would he be able to open his tiny door to her heart.

Annabeth stood up, and pushed her way out of the bathroom stall. She leaned over the sink and stared into the eyes of her reflection. The girl in the mirror had rosy cheeks and slightly red tinged eyes, and Annabeth thumbed away any lasting evidence that she had cried. She took another shaky breath.

 _I will never cry for Percy Jackson again._

The promise felt final, and it gave Annabeth a feeling of satisfaction. No matter how much she had liked Percy, she knew she couldn't let the past control her. With a final sigh of relief, she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin, and left the bathroom.

Annabeth's confidence dripped away the second she left the refuge of the small bathroom, and she kept her head down and twiddled with the strings on her backpack as she hurried off to her next class. Suddenly her head hit something hard and she was sitting on the floor rubbing her head, and scowling up the person who she had walked into. Whoever it was smiled and reached out a hand.

"Fond of falling down, Annabeth?"

Annabeth let the boy pull her to her feet as her eyes widened. "You know my name?"

The boy was tall, almost a head taller than Annabeth, who wasn't short by any standard. He had straight, carefully manicured blond hair and an angular face that smiled softly at her. There was something familiar about those icy blue eyes.

"Um, yes? Of course I do. Luke, remember?" He pointed to himself, and Annabeth mentally smacked herself.

"Right! Luke. I haven't seen you in years."

Luke smirked, and the motion brought Annabeth's eyes to the long, white scar that trailed up the side of his face. She felt her old notion to ask where it came from well up inside her, but swallowed it down.

"Yeah, you always seemed too busy to notice me." He smiled softly, and Annabeth felt a funny lurch in her stomach.

She swallowed. "Um."

Luke looked like he was holding back a grin as his eyes lit up. "Hey, what class do you have next?"

Annabeth frowned slightly and looked down at her timetable, which she had ripped a hole in with absent fingers. She straightened it out and traced her finger down the first column. "Um, I have Math in Room 63."

"Really? My next class is right around the corner! Let me walk you there." He held out his arm expectantly.

"I… um, yeah. Okay," Annabeth said, trying to sound nonchalant but secretly pleased. She tried not to grin as Luke slowed down slightly so that she could walk beside him. "So you're a sophomore now?"

"Yup," he said, popping the P. "Loud and proud, that's our motto. You're just are freshie now, aren't you? Oh, I remember when I was like you, new to the world of high school, nervous of all of the bigger kids."

"That was only last year, idiot!" Annabeth protested, but after glancing around to make sure no one was listening, she leaned in and added softly, "You were nervous, too?

Luke smiled down at her, and Annabeth felt herself melt a little at the kindness that shone from his ice-blue eyes. She hoped her smile wasn't too dopey.

"Of course. Everybody is. Most of them won't admit it, but all of them ended up crying in the bathroom at some point, trust me."

Annabeth forced a laugh, but it sounded high pitched and strange. She cleared her throat and ducked her head down to look at her watch, avoiding Luke's curious gaze. "We have two minutes. We'd better hurry if we want to get there on time."

"Oh, don't worry, we will." Luke smiled smoothly. "Milady, your math class." He bowed slightly and gestured widely to the classroom in front of them.

Annabeth grinned and stifled a giggle. "Thanks, Luke."

"No problem, I should be thanking you for letting me escort you." He smiled and turned the corner, then froze in his tracks. "Oh, dammit, I forgot my pencil case in my locker. I'll have to run back. Shit. Have an awesome math class, Annabeth!" He took off running, waving over his shoulder.

Annabeth laughed and stepped forwards to pick up the piece of paper that had fluttered out from his open backpack as he ran. It was his timetable. She glanced down at it, her eyes following the rows. His current class was nowhere to be seen. She stared critically at his retreating back, unable to stop the grin that slowly crossed her face.

His next class was on the other side of the school.

He had lied, solely for the purpose of walking with her. Annabeth had never been much of a fan of liars, but still…

Most of the liars she knew weren't so _cute_.

Trying to conceal the all too obvious grin that she knew was still on her lips, Annabeth ducked her head and timidly pushed the door to her math class open. The room was still heavy with chatter and she breathed a sigh of relief as her eyes swept the room in search of Piper. She found her sitting at a table beside Leo, grinning and chatting happily away. She scanned the room until she spotted Thalia, alone at a table in the corner, and headed towards her with a grin.

"Thalia!" Annabeth slid into the seat next to her, grinning as Thalia started and turned to face her with a scowl. "Hey, long time no see. I didn't know you had math with me?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, but Annabeth could see the smile in them. "Yes, nerd. Of course I'm in your math class. How kind of you to grace me with your presences."

Annabeth smirked. " _Grace_ you with my presence."

Thalia groaned. "It's a phrase. A perfectly legitimate phrase. Am I seriously never going to be allowed to use that as a sentence without you making that joke?"

"Nope," Annabeth replied cheerfully, straightening her binder and pressing her lips together to keep from grinning as she surveyed the room. Her eyes caught Piper's, who tilted her head and gave Annabeth a look of confusion.

 _What happened?_ mouthed Piper.

Annabeth sighed, and mouthed back, _Nothing, tell you later._

Piper chewed her lip in confusion, but nodded and turned back to Leo. Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief.

A moment later the teacher walked into the room, a tall man with dark hair and bright eyes who looked quite a lot more normal than their previous teacher. He gave them a leery smile and said, "Hello, students. You can call me Mr. D. We all know that none of us want to be here, let's establish that I care nothing for you brats and you're only here because this is how the government chose my eternal torture. Now, let's start roll call."

There was a stunned silence, the students looking around nervously, before Mr. D started roll call in an incredibly flat voice. Annabeth had to stifle a giggle as she let her eyes dart around the room to each person as he called out their names. Memorization games were fun, and now seemed like a good time to start. She noted that no one looked particularly interesting.

The teacher called out the last name, and Annabeth's eyes were strangely drawn to the boy who shifted nervously in his seat and mumbled _here_. Annabeth twiddled her fingers in her lap and stared at him. He caught her gaze and shyly slid lower down in his seat, and Annabeth stifled a small smile. There was something oddly familiar about him.

Annabeth couldn't help but think that he wasn't incredibly impressive appearance-wise. He looked sort of burly, in a squishy sort of way, and he had close cropped black hair and big, puppy-dog eyes. Chinese, Annabeth decided. She supposed he was kind of cute, in an overgrown panda-bear sort of way. She gave him a little smile, and turned away.

Why did he look so familiar? She chewed her lip thoughtfully. _What was his name?_ What had the teacher said… Fred? No… _Frank_! That was it. Frank… why did that sound familiar?

Annabeth gasped and slammed her hands down on the desk. A couple people turned around in their seats in blink at her confusedly, but she ignored them and caught Piper's eyes again.

Piper raised her eyebrows questioningly.

 _Hazel's Frank_ , mouthed Annabeth vigorously, trying to subtly point to Frank, who looked utterly oblivious to the entire thing.

Piper looked over to Frank's general area. Her eyes scanned over several people, skimming over Frank. She turned back to Annabeth a slight frown on her face.

 _What?_ she mouthed.

Annabeth tried again. _Frank. Look at_ Frank _. Hazel's. Frank._

Piper's eyes flitted back and forth between Annabeth and the people in Franks general area. She finally settled back on Annabeth, her brow scrunched in confusion. She shrugged.

Annabeth sighed. _Never mind. I'll tell you later._

Piper still looked confused.

 _LATER._

"Miss. Chase? Something you would like to share with the class?" Mr. D's voice asked from the front of the class, and Annabeth felt her head snap up. Her cheeks flaming, she shook her head amidst the snickers of her classmates.

Thalia elbowed her. "What were you mouthing at Piper?"

"Oh, the boy in the back. Frank. I think he's Hazel's Frank. You know, the one she never shuts up about." Annabeth hissed back, after glancing over to make sure the teacher was distracted.

Thalia turned her head and stared Frank up and down a few times. Annabeth tried not to laugh.

"You might be right," she finally said. "Shall we question him after math?"

"What? No! Don't be so mean to the poor boy," Annabeth protested.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Ugh. _Fine_."

An extremely boring hour later, the bell rang, and Piper rushed over to Annabeth without even bothering to close her backpack, her eyes scrunching in concern. "Okay. I'm here. What were you mouthing back there? I seriously had no idea, I'm sorry it was like—"

"Yes, yes. I got that you didn't understand me." Annabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I was _trying_ to tell you that I thought the boy in the back might be Frank. As in, Hazel's Frank."

Piper's eyes instantly snapped to the back of the room, where the remaining stragglers stuffed rulers into their bags and zipped them up hurriedly. Her eyes zeroed in on Frank. A moment later Piper gasped and turned back to Annabeth and Thalia with wide eyes. "I think that might be _Frank_. As in, Hazel's Frank."

Annabeth didn't even try to restrain herself from rolling her eyes this time as she answered sarcastically, "No _way_. That's _totally_ not what I've been saying for the past hour."

Piper punched her lightly on the arm. "You and your sarcasm." Annabeth opened her mouth to reply, but Piper beat her to it. "I know, I know. Sarcasm is your second language and all that jazz. Now shush. I have to stare at this Frank guy."

Annabeth snapped her mouth shut and bit back her retort, following Piper's gaze to Frank, who seemed unaware of the three pairs of eyes trained on him. Annabeth couldn't help but remark to herself that he looked a lot taller standing up. Maybe if he didn't _slouch_ so much.

Distracted by this, Annabeth didn't notice Piper leave her side. She tried in vain to grab the bottom of Piper's sweater, but there was no stopping her. In a moment she was standing beside Frank and looking up at him adamantly. He looked slightly cornered and scared, and Annabeth couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him – but she also had a very strong urge to giggle at tiny Piper cornering tall, pudgy Frank.

"Are you Frank?" asked Piper.

"What?" said Frank, looking around for an exit. "Um, yes?"

Piper looked slightly annoyed, though Annabeth wasn't sure why. "No, are you _Frank._ "

"I'm not sure what you…"

"Are you _Hazel's_ Frank." Piper said insistently. Annabeth wondered how on earth Frank was supposed to have gotten that.

Frank turned beet red, and Annabeth took that as a very clear yes.

"I… I mean… I _know_ Hazel. I'm not her… well… it's not that I don't… because I…"

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh then; she had never seen anyone look so much like a flustered panda bear. She covered her mouth and turned around, trying to be discreet, and could hear Thalia chucking beside her. Frank glanced over at her and muttered, "Not helping."

"Sorry," said Annabeth, wiping the corners of her eyes and smiling over at Frank. "Excuse Piper, I know she's rude. We're friends of Hazel's. I'm Annabeth, that's Thalia, that's Piper. We assumed that you were Hazel's neighbor Frank because she talks about you a lot and _this_ dork," she pointed to Piper, "couldn't be _subtle_ about it."

Piper made a grotesque face at Annabeth from behind Frank, which sent Annabeth into another fit of laughter.

Frank's face lit up. "Hazel talks about me?"

Thalia rolled her eyes and spoke for the first time. "All. The. Time."

Frank flushed bright pink but looked pleased.

"Do you brats have any purpose in loitering, or are you somehow above going to your next class?"

All four students whipped around to see Mr. D picking his fingernails at his desk in a bored sort of way. He sent them a pointed glare. With muttered apologies, they all scurried out of the classroom.

"What class do you have next?" Annabeth asked, pulling out her schedule and looking over at Frank.

Frank pulled out his own schedule and shuddered. "Phys Ed. Ugh, I hate gym."

"Oh, I have gym too! Here, I'll walk there with you," Annabeth offered warmly.

Frank's round face brightened slightly. "Oh, good! Thanks."

"I have art now, so I'll see y'all later!" Piper said, waving goodbye. Thalia had already disappeared down a different hallway.

As Piper passed Annabeth she hissed into her ear, "Find out more about Frank and Hazel!"

"Did you seriously just say _y'all_?" Annabeth called after her.

Piper spun around and waved daintily over her shoulder, leaving Annabeth to dig up whatever dirt she could on her best friend's latest favorite couple.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello friends! I am back, once again later than intended. Kudos to all that guessed last chapter that the last line of the chapter was from Grease. Your prize is a virtual hug from me because hugs are good. *swishes everyone* So ANYWAY I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know, I know, I'm mean and Percabeth doesn't seem very Percabeth-y right now and blah blah blah but pleeeease just trust me I have to break them apart a bit more before I can bring them together, okay? I have a plan. A good plan.**

 **AND AHHHHHH WE REACHED 200 REVIEWS THANK YOU SO MUCHHH EVERYONE I AM VERY HAPPY AND I WOULD REPLY TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND SAY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU IF I WASN'T SO LAZY SO JUST KNOW THAT EVERY REVIEW THAT IS GIVEN IS MUCH APPRECIATED THANK THANK THANK YOU.**

 **My usual thanks to the glorious Rachel for her edits (TheWritingManiac if you want to go check out her stories. I recommend- well all of them.) And Mia too because I love you Mia. (I promoted you last time, okay?) Can anyone guess what Ms. Rhoda's _real_ name is? **

**Love you all lots, and don't forget to review! xx**

 **-GGW**

 **P.S: OH and I almost forgot: I wrote a oneshot called Allergic to You last week- would love it if any of you checked it out, K byeee!**


	20. The Snowball Effect

The whistle screeched, and Percy dove into the water.

He flew down the lane, his arms spinning, legs kicking, and mind reveling in the feeling of the cool water against his skin. Four months had passed since he had started swimming. Four months of chlorine-filled hair, dry skin, and early morning practices.

And he loved every minute of it.

He had worked hard; he gave himself that. Three practices a week were hard to get to, and most of his new swimming friends barely made it to one or two a week. Percy had only missed three practices in total. And slowly, so slowly that he barely noticed it, he had improved. First he found himself passing the slowest of the swimmers. Then the faster ones. After just four months, some of the best swimmers of the group struggled to keep up with him.

He was even starting to allow himself to think that maybe he was getting a little less scrawny; even verging on muscular. 50 pushups per practice does make a difference on skinny arms.

Percy reached the end of the pool, twisting and flipping himself around expertly to face the other way and continued on his way. The first few time he had done nothing but a somersault when asked to turn around. It had been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life.

The tips of his forefingers hit the edge of the pool deck, and he pulled himself out, breathing heavily. He pulled off his swim cap and shook out his wet hair like a dog, instinctively grabbing his little towel to wipe off his face.

"Nice job, kid," his coach said, checking his stopwatch. "You beat your time by .4 seconds. At this rate you'll be an Olympian by the summer!"

Percy grinned easily. "Thanks, Coach."

The coach opened his mouth to continue when someone else called his name.

"Hey, Coach Hedge! Murphy stole my flutter-board!"

Coach Hedge growled and rolled his eyes. "Deal with your own problems, cupcake. I'm not your mommy."

Percy laughed, toweling off his head as he headed towards the change rooms. The early morning practices never left him much time to shower, and ten minutes later he rushed out of the changing room with his backpack hanging off his shoulder and a few stray bubbles still in his hair. His mom was waiting for him by the door, and he ducked away from her hand as she tried to wipe the bubbles away.

"How was practice?" asked Sally, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Her side job as a waitress didn't need her in until noon, but she always got home late and spent the rest of the evening on other work. She often didn't get up until ten, and Percy had a sneaking suspicion she would go back to bed when she got home.

"Good," he said, tugging at a piece of his hair. The sharp January air worked its magic quickly, and the soft strands were already transforming to ice.

He opened the car door and snuggled down into the worn seat, trying to resist the urge to close his eyes and take a nap on the way to school. The car was warm and he could just see the first rays of sunlight starting to peek over the horizon. Sally yawned again as she put the keys in the ignition and turned on the radio so they could listen to some music.

Percy suddenly remembered that she had been out working abnormally late the night before, and felt a pang of guilt for making her come pick him up. She was already paying for all of the swimming, and though Percy had begged her to let him help out, she had insisted that it was the least she could do. Still, he felt a little guilty when she had to sacrifice her sleep for him.

Sally turned out on to the busy road, and was instantly stopped by the flood of traffic. She sighed and slumped back down into her seat.

"Percy, dear, there's something that I should probably talk to you about."

Percy looked up from his lap, where he had been absently fiddling his finger. "Yeah?"

"The reason I was… I was out later last night wasn't because Mr. Lester gave me a later shift like I said." Percy blinked at her, startled. She sighed and continued. "A couple days ago I met this nice guy at the restaurant, and… he took me out to dinner. I didn't want to mention it to you because," she sent him a little glance full of memories, "you know."

 _Gabe_. The forbidden word that hung in the air between them. Percy felt himself tense up, and Sally sensed it, glancing over and momentarily putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"He's really a very nice guy. No, don't give me that look, I promise you, Percy. He was out at the diner with some of his friends, who were being rude — _no,_ dear, I don't need you to come beat them up — and he stayed after they left to give me a bigger tip. He came back the next day and the same thing happened, but he asked me out of the end of the evening. I… he seems really nice, Percy, I promise. But if you… I mean if you don't approve I won't see him again." Percy couldn't help but notice how his mom's voice trembled slightly.

He sighed, and gave her a little smile. "It—it's okay, mom. I'll trust your judgement. He sounds, um, very nice." There was a pause, and Sally sent a little smile toward at him. Percy cleared his throat. "What's his name?"

Sally didn't say anything for a moment, gazing off into the distance, before finally breaking the silence. "Paul. His name is Paul."

By the time they arrived at the school twenty minutes later, the wind had picked up and Percy had to shield his face to protect it from the bite of the wind as he rushed over to the school. He heard Sally's engine clunk to life as she drove off. He waved over his shoulder and could just see her farewell smile. He grinned.

As he walked into the school, adjusting his backpack and trying to pull the ice out of his hair, he caught a glimpse of Piper and Annabeth, brushing snow off each other's shoulder's as they walked. Distracted by the one curl that peeked out of Annabeth's hat, Percy lost sight of where he was going and promptly walked into someone, knocking them to the ground.

For a second, Percy marveled at his own strength. Had he grown taller? He must have.

Then he shook his head and came to his senses. "Oh sorry! I was totally distracted, here…" Percy held out a hand.

The boy who he had knocked over, a small pale guy with dark hair and eyes ignored his hand and glared at Percy as he got to his feet. "Sure."

He started to walk away. Percy ran after him. "Hey, wait! I'm sorry. I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Leave me alone."

"But it was an accident!"

"I don't really care." The boy's glare was fierce enough to raise the dead.

"I'm not leaving until you forgive me," Percy wheedled.

The boy sighed and whipped back around to face Percy. He was so skinny that Percy wondered if he ever ate anything, though the rather baggy black t-shirt he wore sort of covered that. He rolled his eyes. " _Okay_. I forgive you. Are you satisfied now?"

Percy nodded. "Yeah, mostly."

The boy almost smiled. "Good." He turned and continued on his way. After a minute he stopped again, and without turning to face Percy he said, "Dude, I _said_ I forgave you. Would you _please_ stop following me?"

Percy smiled sheepishly. "My locker is this way."

The boy huffed in an embarrassed sort of way, and continued to his own locker. Percy walked behind him in silence for a few minutes, then decided that he should speak again. "So… what's your name?"

The boy turned back around suspiciously. "Why?"

"Um." Percy scratched his head. "I'm… small talk?"

The guy rolled his eyes again and continued walking. But his pace slowed very slightly and in a moment Percy was walking beside him. "I'm Percy," he offered.

The boy still looked somewhat suspicious. "Nico."

Percy thought about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah, aren't you in my Social Studies class?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah, I think I've seen you there."

They reached the lockers, and Nico sent Percy a short nod of farewell, which Percy counted as a win. He continued to his own locker where Jason and Leo were standing, chatting as they pulled out their things. They stopped when they saw Percy, and he was greeted by Jason's usual small smirk and Leo's wide, mischievous grin. As Percy opened his locker, Leo leaned closer to him.

"So why were you walking with the weirdo from Social?" he asked.

Percy swatted his head away and continued rummaging through the papers scattered at the bottom of his locker. "Shut up, Leo. _You_ of all people shouldn't be the ones calling people weird. Have you looked in a mirror recently?" Leo chuckled, and Percy straightened with a grin. "I think he's just shy or something, anyway."

Leo smirked and crossed his arms, elvish face propped up in a grin. "And should we be expecting a happy announcement by the end of the week."

"Leo, do us all a favor and shut up for five minutes. Or are you incapable of that, even?" Jason joined the conversation, head deep in his science textbook.

Leo followed Jason, who slung his backpack over his shoulder and continued down the hall with long strides.

"What's the matter, Grace? Got a problem with that?"

"Of course not, you idiot."

"Then embrace the possibility of a happy future for our dear friend!" Leo sang, flinging his arms about and jumping around Jason, who snorted disbelievingly and ignored him. He spun into the lockers, crashing into a pretty girl with caramel hair, who gave him a disgusted look. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she rolled her eyes with a little huff and turned away.

Percy caught up, zipping his bag up as he walked and grabbing Leo's shoulder to spin him away from the girls at the locker. "Dude, you're a piece of work."

Leo grinned widely, patting himself on the back. "Take _pride_ in it, baby. They don't build machines like the McShizzle special anymore. I'm one of a kind."

"You can say that again," Jason muttered.

"ONE OF A KIND!" Leo yelled, throwing his arms again and spinning in circles.

"Don't start singing… this isn't _High School Musical,_ " Percy warned grumpily.

Leo stuck out his tongue and continued walking.

Jason pulled out a paper from his bag. "Did you guys finish the paper that Mrs. H assigned us for Science? I've gotten stuck on question four, and…"

Leo placed a hand on Jason's shoulder with a look of pity. "Jason, buddy, you are the only person here that has touched that paper since it left Mrs. H's slimy hands. It's not due until Friday, and if you think I'm going to start it any time sooner than Thursday night, you are very much mistaken."

"This is why you never get anything over a seventy," Jason told him wearily.

"And you would know, Mister I-cry-if-my-mark-is-below-ninety."

Jason gaped over at Leo. "Dude, you _know_ that's not true."

Leo turned to Percy for assistance. "Percy, tell him he cries if he gets a mark below ninety."

Percy smirked and nodded in confirmation. "Sorry, Jason. You do cry if you get a mark below ninety."

"Hah!" cried Leo. "I win! Imma start calling you crybaby, Grace. Crybaby, crybaby, crybaby—"

 _If it was anyone but Leo_ , thought Percy, rolling his eyes and smiling to himself.

Leo was still chanting when Piper and Annabeth walked by, and Jason's face turned bright red when Piper turned towards Leo's voice, smirked at him then turned to Jason to give him a small smile and a wink. She turned back to Annabeth and Percy could hear them laughing as they walked down the hall arm-in-arm.

"Good job, Leo!" Jason hissed. "Now you've lost me any chance with Pipes."

"Dude." Leo looked a bit offended. "Jase, that chick is _totally_ into you." He ran over to Jason, putting his hands on his shoulders and deepening his voice. "Get your head in the game!"

Jason rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Leo." He turned away from Percy and Leo and ran after Piper and Annabeth. "Piper! Hey, Pipes! Wait up!"

Leo turned to Percy with a smirk as Jason caught up to the girls and slung an arm over each of their shoulders. Percy chuckled to himself as he watched Annabeth squirm grumpily out of Jason's grasp. Piper grinned and snuggled closer.

Leo tapped his pocket. "Ten bucks says they're doing it by the end of the year."

Percy turned to Leo with a grin. "By 'doing it' do you mean _doing it_ , or the Leo equivalent?"

"Which is?"

"Making out, mostly."

Leo considered it. "Hmm, the Leo equivalent, then. Ten bucks says by the end of May?"

Percy watched them disappear around a corner. "Nah, I give it till Christmas."

"Oh, it is _on._ "

They shook on it, and Percy turned to head to his gym class, leaving Leo to trail away after Jason. That was the one downside to the high school classes; he had to spend all morning in different rooms from his friends. Except Grover, but then again Grover never did gym anyways. He sighed as he pushed his way into the change room.

It would be a long day.

* * *

Percy shuddered, and pulled the hood of his coat up over his head as he left the building. Screw looking dorky, he would rather wear the too-big hood than have his ears freeze off. The wind howled, poking at his exposed skin like sharp little needles. He shivered again, and closed his mouth firmly to stop his teeth from chattering. Maybe it wasn't a cold as it felt—though it certainly felt frigid—Percy's thin coat and adaptation to warmer weather left him more than cold enough. All of his friends had managed to hitch a ride home, leaving him to walk home alone.

Four feet padded along ahead of him, and he watched them as he walked, keeping his head down to protect it from the wind. The feet hurried along, tracking footprints in the fresh snow. They seemed to be going in the same direction as Percy, and he was grateful to follow behind.

After about five minutes, when a particularly sharp blast of wind had passed, Percy made the mistake of looking up. He froze.

Figuratively of course; he was already literally frozen.

The two in front of him were a boy and a girl, not quite holding hands but walking so close together that they may as well have been. The boy's hair was covered by a blue beanie hat, but the girl's hair stuck out from underneath her red toque. Percy would have recognized those curls anywhere.

The girl was Annabeth, no question, but the identity of the boy who was walking so close to her remained a mystery. Percy noticed his fists were clenched, and unclenched them.

 _Whatever,_ he told himself. _I don't even like Annabeth. It doesn't bother me that she's walking with him…_

Percy decided to give the boy a name. He decided that douchebag would be a good start.

Douchebag and Annabeth's shoulders bumped together as they walked, and Annabeth's giggle, more high pitched than normal, travelled back to him on the wind. He felt his fists tighten again. Their steps were almost in time. _Gross_.

He followed Annabeth and Douchebag's feet all the way home, and suddenly, Annabeth was turning off to her house and Douchebag was saying goodbye and… wait…

Percy looked around. He had been so intent on following the footsteps of the two in front of him that he had completely missed his turnoff. He bit his lip and turned around to leave.

A snowball hit him in the back of the head, knocking his hood off and dropping snow down the back of his jacket, soaking through back of his shirt. He turned slowly. There was Annabeth, snow on her mittens and her hand frozen in the air as if she had just thrown. She looked mortified. "I—I'm sorry… I was aiming for the tree…"

She trailed off, and Percy couldn't help but grin. Without a word, Percy kneeled down and scooped up a ball of snow. Without breaking eye contact he quickly shaped the ball and flung it towards her. She yelped, and at the last minute turned so that the snowball hit her shoulder. It exploded, and the icy pieces fell to the ground like rocks. He leaned down to pick up another.

She backed away. "Percy… I swear I didn't know it was you."

He continued towards her, like predator stalking pray. He threw the snowball, and she gave another small yelp, ducking so it flew over her head.

"Oh it is _on,_ Percy Jackson." She jumped to the side as another snowball flew past her, leaning down to scoop up some snow of her own. Her able hands quickly shaped and launched it towards him with better accuracy than he could ever hope for. It missed him by a millimeter.

He dipped down for some more snow, ducking the pelting of snowballs she sent his way. "This has moved beyond a snow fight, Annabeth Chase," he said in his most dramatic voice. "It's a battle. A battle of snow. A battle of _wits._ "

"In that case," Annabeth jumped over a low aimed snowball, "I'll _definitely_ win. We've gone past a battle, Jackson. This is _war_."

With that, she grabbed an armful of snow, and before Percy could predict her next move, she charged. He tried to sidestep her, but was too slow and she crashed into him, sending snow flying through the air. It came tumbling down to hit him in the face and slip down his neck.

Percy howled. "You'll pay for that!"

And just like that, they were both five years old again, best friends rolling around in the snow.

Percy fumbled behind his back, grabbing a handful of the snow. He waited until Annabeth was distracted with the snow on the ground, then, quick as he could, pulled back the back of her jacket and dropped it in.

There was a full second of frozen silence before she shot to her feet and started screaming at him.

"AGGGHHH! PERCY JACKSON, YOU _EVIL_ CREATURE, OH MY GOD!" she screeched, dancing around and desperately fumbling at the back of her coat with numb fingers. "Get it out, get it out, get it _OUT."_

Percy collapsed to the ground, cackling. He wheezed with laughter, clutching his stomach as Annabeth glared down at him. He didn't even pause when Annabeth grabbed and handful of snow and smashed it into his face. A moment later she seemed to decide that this wasn't enough, and pinned Percy to the ground. She grabbed the back of his hair and shoved his entire face into the snow, holding him down by sitting on him. He squirmed underneath her, still chortling with laughter into the snow. After a minute she pulled his face back up.

"Tell me you surrender!" she ordered.

For a moment Percy considered disobeying, but his face was getting numb with cold and his arms were starting to hurt from being sat on for so long. "Okay! Fine! I surrender!"

Annabeth instantly leapt up and watched Percy struggle to his feet with a triumphant smirk. "I _told_ you I would win."

Percy rubbed his arm. "Yeah, yeah, you don't have to rub it in."

Annabeth titled her head cockily. "Oh, but I do. I rubbed your head in the snow. I would say that counts."

Percy groaned and opened his mouth to reply, but Annabeth's slender hand offered to pull him up. He looked up at her, and she gave him a tiny smile.

Percy grabbed her hand and let her pull him to his feet. "Thanks," he grunted.

She smirked at him. "You're soaked," she said, trying—and failing—to sound sympathetic.

He laughed. "Gee, I wonder who's fault that is!"

Annabeth made a little noise of protest. "Ex _cuse_ me, who started this fight in the first place?"

"Um, I believe it was _you_ , when you threw that snowball at my head."

"That was an accident!"

"Says you," Percy sang.

"I didn't even know it was you!" Annabeth protested, her cheeks like cherries in the cold air.

Percy whirled around to face her, unable to keep the grin of his face. "You started this fight, Annabeth Chase. You have to face the consequences."

Annabeth looked down at the ground, her face falling. "I always do."

Percy realized his mistake a moment too late. "Oh. I—I'm sorry," he fumbled. It sounded almost like a question. The implication was heavy in the air between them.

 _What can I say to make it better?_

Annabeth swallowed. "We fight too much, Percy. We have for years." She met his eyes. "I'm so tired of—of hating you."

"We — we could stop fighting," he offered in a hopeful tone. More hopeful than he meant it to be.

Annabeth looked up at him, and Percy could see the sadness behind her eyes. He wished that he could wipe it away somehow, but he knew he'd gone too far to go back so fast.

Annabeth gave him a wavering smile. "That would be a start."

"It would be."

"And—" Annabeth started nervously. "We can smile at each other in the halls. That — that's a start, too."

Percy nodded, letting the corners of his mouth turn up. "Yeah."

Annabeth gave him a small smile. "A real start. Not perfect, but okay."

They stood facing each other in the silence of the softly-falling snow for a while. Annabeth's mittened hands were clasped together, and she smiled softly at Percy. He managed to smile back.

It was a small beginning, but it was a good one.

"Do you—do you want to come inside and warm up? I can make some hot chocolate," Annabeth asked quietly.

Percy sighed. "I—no, I should be getting home. My mom is probably getting worried." It was a lie. His mom wasn't home.

Annabeth nodded through pursed lips. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Percy."

And with that, she turned and leapt quickly up the front steps to her house, shutting her door quickly and loudly without looking back.

Percy stayed where he was on the sidewalk for a minute. He sighed again, bringing up a hand to scratch the back of his neck. He knew that in saying no to her offer, he had put up some sort of barrier between them. They had a start, and Percy knew it could have snowballed.

But the barrier was there now — lower than it had been before, perhaps, but still there. He could take it down, but it would have to be slowly. One brick at a time.

The tiny flakes of icy snow spiraled down mesmerizingly from the cold grey sky, gathering in tiny drifts at the side of the road. Percy shivered and turned up his coat collar against the wind as he turned into his driveway.

 _One brick at a time._

* * *

 **A/N: Look at me! Barely over a week and I'm updating again. I'm so proud of me. *pats self on the back* Actually I had it all done by sometime mid last week but there were wifi complications so I'm only just getting it up now. Anyways, still proud of me. Okay so for the next little while I'm going to try and update weekly-ish, though I make no promises. I'm not going to give a specific day of the week, because we are currently traveling and that would be difficult. But yeah, you get the picture. And to those of you who guessed that Ms. Rhoda was Aphrodite last chapter, good job, you are very correct and I applaud you. Love you guys! :)  
**

 **OKAY SO ANNOUNCEMENT: By this point you probably all have seen me mention my good friends, Rachel and Mia. Rachel (TheWritingManiac) edits for me (and I would like to thank her for editing this when she was on vacation you get a round of applause), and I persuade you to check out her story _As Long As We're Together : The Price of Freedom,_ because it is absolutely awesome. Mia (herecomesthepun) is similarly awesome (and a complete sweetie) and you absolutely _have_ to read her story _iSpy_. I have advertised these lovelies many times before, but today I have a purpose. On Pinterest, Rachel, Mia and I have started aesthetic boards for _iSpy_ , _Childhood_ and _ALAWT._ They're pretty fun, mostly pictures and the like, and we would love if anyone wanted to check them out. If you like them please feel free to follow or send us any pins you think we could add. The link to my Pinterest account is in my bio, if you're interested.**

 **Now, I must end this much too long authors note. As always, you are all lovelies and take a minute to leave me a review, tell me what you thought. (Percabeth goes uphill a bit, yay!) Until next week!**

 **-GGW**


	21. Like the Tide

"Okay, so we have sandwiches, fruit, cookies, a cake, some drinks…"

Piper continued rattling off the contents of her picnic basket as she pulled out each item, placing them down carefully on the checkered red blanket she bought specifically for the occasion. Annabeth sighed, leaning back against a tree trunk as the hot sun beat down through the canopy of green overhead, the leaves waving lazing in the warm summer breeze. Four pairs of shoes lay abandoned on the lush green grass beside them, and she could hear waves crashing merrily into the bay somewhere in the distance.

"Did you make all of this yourself?" Thalia asked suspiciously, looking at the food with a wary eye.

"Yup!" Piper said cheerfully. Annabeth and Thalia exchanged a look. Piper loved cooking. The only problem was that she was absolutely _awful_ at it. Somehow she was also under the impression that everything that she cooked was delicious.

"I brought some cookies!" piped Hazel, pulling a tin out of her backpack. "They're probably not very good, but they're pretty fresh."

Annabeth and Thalia met each other's glances again, this time to exchange a grin. Hazel, whatever she may believe, was a fantastic cook.

Piper beamed over at them. "So are we going to start eating or what?"

Annabeth gave tiny groan, and carefully scooped up one of the sandwiches. Chewing her first bite, she wondered if they could go get ice-cream later to wash it all down.

It was early August, and the mid-morning heat was already rising. Piper had suddenly been inspired to have what she called a 'real old-fashioned picnic' down at the beach, and had dragged Annabeth, Hazel and Thalia off their couches and outdoors. It was nice, Annabeth decided. She could hear the seagulls in the distance, circling the shining waves, and nearby a group of boys playing soccer were whooping excitedly. Maybe even better than watching Netflix on her couch for the entire day, as she had planned.

 _Maybe_.

Still chewing on her slightly rubbery sandwich, Annabeth flipped onto her stomach on the big blanket and pulled out a book, sighing happily. Piper and Hazel were having an animated conversation about something, leaning close to one another so Annabeth couldn't quite hear what they said, and Thalia was gazing thoughtfully into the distance, her sandwich lying forgotten beside her. _Perfect_.

Annabeth looked up a second later. Something was flying through the air towards Piper's head. Her eyes widened, but before she could say anything, the soccer ball hit Piper in the back of the head, and she fell forward into Hazel's lap with a squeal. Annabeth bit her lip to stop from laughing and moved forwards in concern. Thalia kneeled over clutching her stomach with laughter as Piper glared at her, rubbing the back of her head disdainfully.

The owners of the soccer ball ran over, looking concerned. After a second, Annabeth recognized them, and couldn't help but grin. Leo was leading the pack, looking pleased with himself and was trailed by an exasperated Jason and an amused Percy. Behind them was Frank, who looked embarrassed and slightly unsure of how he had joined the group in the first place.

"Girls!" said Leo, spreading his hands. "How nice to see all you lovely ladies. Piper, did our ball hit you? I can't believe it! That is so awful, my most sincere apologies—"

"Oh, shut up," grumbled Piper, "you _so_ did that on purpose.

Leo looked affronted. " _Piper_ , how could you ever accuse me of such a thing."

"You're smirking," she pointed out.

Leo grinned evilly. "Well, maybe it wasn't _entirely_ an accident."

"He did it on purpose," Jason said from behind, rolling his eyes. "I'm surprised he actually hit you though, Leo has terrible aim."

"Ex _cuse_ me!" said Leo, turning around to glare at Jason.

Piper opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again when Jason met her gaze and smiled. She turned bright red and batted her long eyelashes furiously.

Annabeth laughed. Out of a habit that still hadn't faded, her eyes drifted up to Percy, who quickly looked away as if he'd been watching her for a moment too long. He looked back a second later and she gave him a tiny smile. He grinned back at her and she wanted to laugh at the way his face lit up. She hated to admit it, but sometimes Percy Jackson was obnoxiously cute.

Piper pouted at Leo, pointedly rubbing the back of her head. "Well, I _would_ have asked you guys to stay for the picnic, but since I was so _horribly_ injured…"

Leo's smirk instantly vanished. "Aw, Pipes, don't do that! I'm really sorry, honest, don't keep us away from the food!"

Piper smiled sweetly. "Well I might be able to spare a couple bites. C'mon, sit down. Yes, you too, Frank."

Annabeth stifled a laugh as Frank lumbered over, and deliberately shifted over to make space for him next to Hazel. A flush crept over Hazel's dark skin, and she sent Frank a little smile as she handed him a cookie. Annabeth had to smile at the delighted look on his face.

The boys gathered excitedly around the blanket and Annabeth grinned to herself. They didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

Jason settled himself down in between Thalia and Piper. He looked over at Thalia, grinning, but she turned her head away, leaving Jason looking slightly sad. Annabeth felt her brow furrow in confusion, but she brushed it off.

She was so busy watching the others that she didn't notice Percy sliding down beside her.

"What are you reading?" he asked, startling her.

"Oh, um," she glanced down at her book, lying open on the red blanket. "Nothing really."

His mouth twitched. "Sounds like a good book."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, unable to stop a smile. "Oh, shut up."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud noise from Leo. "Blehh! Pipes, where did you get all this stuff? It's awful!"

Piper looked hurt. "I made it."

"Oh." Leo stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth. "It's delicious," he said through his mouthful of bread. Piper rolled her eyes.

A Frisbee was removed from the picnic basket, and Piper's cooking was soon forgotten as the gang jumped up to play. For a few minutes, the heat was forgotten as they ran around after the flying disc, jumping and rolling dramatically as the could whenever it came their way.

The disc flew towards Leo and he jumped it to the air to catch it. It hit him in the stomach, and he collapsed dramatically onto the ground, gasping about how it was the end of the world and to tell his drill that he loved it. Piper rolled her eyes and dragged him across the grass by his feet until he leapt up, saying that he was miraculously better. Annabeth found herself laughing a lot as she flew through the air to catch the disc, the vibrant green grass staining her white shorts and scraping up her knees.

For a second, she couldn't remember ever being happier.

After a few minutes, Frank, Hazel, and Thalia dropped out and went to sit in the cool shade of the big trees that sheltered them from the bright sun, and Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Jason and Leo were left running around screaming and throwing the disc.

"Catch!" screeched Annabeth, hurling the disc at Piper, who whipped around, flinging her long, dark hair just in time for the disc to hit her forehead. Her hands clapped to her forehead in shock and she promptly sat down. Annabeth brought her hands up to her mouth in a mixture of amusement and horror, and rushed over to her best friend.

Jason got there first, and Annabeth took a little step back with a smirk as he kneeled down beside her. She glanced over at Percy, and they shared a little smile as an overly concerned Jason inspected the red line across Piper's forehead. Piper looked a little dazed, but Annabeth couldn't be sure if this was from the Frisbee to the face or Jason's proximity. She sent Annabeth a little smile over his shoulder, wiggling her eyebrows.

Annabeth couldn't quite remember when the heat had overcome all of them, but a couple of hours later she found herself with her back against a tree, blinking open her eyes. The sun had shifted in the sky, and from what she could tell it was late afternoon. The scratchy bark of the tree behind her dug into her back, and far above her the leaves waved lazily, like they too were hot and quiet.

She glanced to her side, and gave a little start, finding Percy only a couple inches away leaning against the same tree, his mouth open as little trail of drool inched down his chin. She smirked. He looked cute when he was sleeping. Younger, too, and Annabeth could almost catch the essence of the little boy that she had loved so much. With a lazy hand she reached out and tried to capture the essence in her fingers. She felt it slip between them and drift up into the deep blue sky as Percy's eyes fluttered open and he regarded her sleepily.

"What—what are you doing?" he asked, pushing himself up the tree a little and rubbing his eyes adorably.

Annabeth should have been embarrassed, but something about the idle heat of the day made her smile simply and shrug her shoulders. Percy sent her a tiny smile back. She tried to ignore the way it warmed her heart.

Annabeth finally broke her gaze from Percy and turned to head to find the others. Piper had fallen asleep with her head in Jason's lap. He was awake, and staring pensively off into the ocean and playing with a strand of her hair. Annabeth sighed. They really weren't subtle. She loved her friends, but sometimes they were honestly so _dense_. Hazel and Frank were under another tree, and she had fallen asleep with her head rested on his shoulder. His head rested on top of hers. Leo was curled up by himself on the picnic blanket, and Thalia was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello, hello," Percy said softly beside her, and she turned back to look at him. He was waving a leaf at a squirrel that was a couple feet away. With his other hand he scooped an acorn off the ground and tossed it to the squirrel, who came a little bit closer.

Annabeth leaned back against the tree again and watched sleepily as Percy lured the little squirrel closer, cooing in baby talk and feeding it nuts off of the ground.

"I think," she said, with drowsy logic, "I think you're a Disney princess."

Percy turned to her with wide eyes. "I am?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes. I christen you… Perseus Jackson, the Disney princess of… squirrels."

Percy beamed at this news for a moment, and then both he and Annabeth broke out in simultaneous peals of laughter. At the noise, the others began to stir.

A few feet away, Piper blinked her bright eyes open and lifted her head from Jason's lap with a groan. "What time is it?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably four or five?"

Piper instantly leapt to her feet. "Oh, we _have_ to go swimming! I thought we should go earlier, but now is perfect, I think that we should go right now before—"

"Um, whoa, Piper." Annabeth looked around. "I—I don't think anyone brought their swimsuits."

Piper looked appalled. "That's not possible. We're at the beach! You guys have your swimsuits, right?" She glared at everyone in turn. They each shook their heads. She collapsed dramatically back into Jason's lap. "You morons. We're at the _beach!_ Oh, forget it. You can swim in your clothes."

Annabeth met Percy's eye again and grinned. It was impossible to argue with Piper; even though she called everyone _morons_ half the time (which they probably deserved more often than not), she was somehow the most persuasive person Annabeth had ever met. Maybe it had something to do with the way she batted those long eyelashes.

It took about half an hour to gather everything from the picnic and wake everyone up. Leo refused to get off the blanket, and Piper eventually decided to pull the blanket out from under him. He rolled off rather unceremoniously and grumbled for a minute before going back to sleep on the grass. Thalia was still nowhere in sight.

"Come on!" yelled Piper, and they all charged down to the beach, yelling happily. The hot sand burned their toes, and in a few moments they were all in the water fully clothed, laughing and splashing without the slightest care that they were soaked. Water flew through the air in droplets that glinted in the sunlight like sparkling diamonds that collapsed back into the endless blue of the bay.

Eventually, when Annabeth was soaked and starting to feel a little cold, she excused herself from the party, stepping carefully out of the water. Her shirt stuck to her in weird places, and her shorts were sending streams of water down her legs and onto the still-hot sand. She tried in vain to run her fingers through her soaked curls before giving up and shaking her head like a dog.

Deciding to leave the party behind for a little while, Annabeth abandoned her shoes and bag with everyone else's stuff and began her trek down the beach. The heat had dimmed slightly; as the sun slipped lower a cool breeze passed by, catching the water at the bottom of her shorts and sending goosebumps down her legs and up her arms. She crossed her arms around her and shivered a little bit.

After a couple of minutes of walking Annabeth spotted a giant boulder part way down the beach. The silhouette of a figure sat on top of the rock, knees pulled up to her chest and facing out to the sea. As Annabeth got closer she realized that it was Thalia, her arms wrapped around her knees and the breeze ruffling her spiky hair. She was staring off into the distance, her expression thoughtful and slightly sad. Annabeth approached her with silent footsteps, and she turned her head like she'd known Annabeth would come all along.

Annabeth reached the boulder and clambered up so she was sitting beside Thalia. She followed her gaze out into the ocean, where the horizon shone a bright line of white where it connected the sky to the sea. It was a world of blue, hazy blue sky and shining blue water, dappled with the light of a faded sun.

Annabeth spoke softly, without turning. "Hi."

Thalia didn't speak, and when Annabeth turned her head at last her expression was unchanged.

"Have you been here the whole time?" Annabeth asked, her eyes fixed on Thalia this time, who gave a little sigh and nodded. Annabeth let her eyes drift down to Thalia's hands, which were rested on her thighs. Her fingers tapped out a soft, irregular rhythm on her pale skin.

Annabeth looked back out to the ocean, deciding not to speak again just yet. After a few silent moments of nothing but the splashing of the waves and the gentle squawking of seagulls in the distance, Thalia spoke.

"It—it's just… sometimes… it's too much." Her voice sounded scratchy, like it hadn't been used in hours.

Annabeth met Thalia's electric blue eyes, and wondered secretly if she had been crying. She looked tired and sad, and her usual sarcastic smirk was gone. It was the Thalia she tried to hide, the one Annabeth had only seen here or there, once or twice. Once again, Annabeth found herself wondering what had happened in Thalia's past. What had caused the pain that sometimes hid behind those bight irises?

"What is?" Annabeth asked quietly.

Thalia gazed off into the distance again. After a moment Annabeth realized that this time she wasn't looking out to sea, but rather off to the blurred silhouettes of their friends, still splashing in the shallow water. Their laugher carrier on the soft breeze, so pure and innocent.

"Watching – watching…them. So happy," she muttered, almost to herself. Annabeth got the impression that it wasn't really what she had meant to say. She watched as the silhouettes played, one clambering up onto another's shoulders and being pushed off a moment later. A joyful screech floated towards them. Annabeth couldn't help wondering who it was that Thalia was watching.

"I—I can't," said Thalia, turning to Annabeth sadly. "I can't tell you. Not right now. It's still… I can't. You deserve to know, Annabeth. I'm sorry."

Annabeth touched her arm gently, unsure of what she should do. "Your secrets are yours. You don't have to tell me. Not until you're ready… not at all."

Thalia nodded and mouthed _thank you_ , seemingly unable to speak anymore. For a long time, the two of them gazed off into the distance, not speaking, not moving. Two girls with unfathomable secrets they kept hidden from the world.

After a long silence, Thalia finally spoke again, her voice still quiet and hoarse. "Should we go back now?"

"If you're ready," said Annabeth, squeezing her friend's hand.

Together they slipped off the boulder and walked slowly up the beach in the setting sun, towards the happy party of their friends. The sand had turned soft and cool between Annabeth's toes, and the low sun cast long shadows down the beach. The sky was slowly turning to a washed out blue, the sun sending rays of colours across the horizon. Annabeth watched the waves as they splashed soft up against the sand, rolling up and down, in and out.

"You know, life is kind of like the tide," Annabeth thought out loud. "It rises and falls, always unexpectedly. You never know where the tide will go. And it's moved by something far away, something we have no control over. We're just little waves, pushed by the tide."

She expected Thalia to scoff and call her a _sappy moron_ or something along those lines, but she simply smiled at the ground, continuing to shuffle through the sand with her hands tucked into her pockets. "You're very metaphorical today, aren't you?"

"Yeah," said Annabeth dreamily. "You have to be, I think."

Thalia nodded. "Yeah… maybe you do."

And as they walked off into the sunset, Annabeth thought about the beach, with its untouched memories and its careful secrets. It played a part in her life, that beach, an unsullied part of the past and a still unknown part of the future.

Percy sighed and picked at a loose string on his shorts. He sat alone on the hard concrete of the outdoor pool deck on a soft green towel, a lonely, slightly-deflated beach ball beside him. The sun was beating down ferociously, making the concrete like fire under his bare feet. Percy could feel the skin on the back of his neck starting to burn, and he rubbed it absentmindedly.

He glanced up from the string on his pants every few seconds, his eyes flitting to the change room doors and back. Surely it wasn't possible to be stood up by _six_ _people_ all at once.

Was it?

Percy glanced nervously down at his watch. 10:14. The group had agreed to arrive at the pool at 10:00am.

He _was_ at the right pool, wasn't he?

Percy sighed again, looking longingly over at the rippling water of the small pool. It was clear and cool-looking. He was suddenly _very_ aware of the way his shirt was sticking to his back, and his dark hair was making his head feel like it was on fire. Percy's eyes drifted up to the bright blue of sky, where fluffy clouds like little white sheep drifted by lazily.

Percy wished he was a cloud. Clouds didn't get stood up.

A lifeguard's whistle screeched, and Percy jumped, wincing as his hand hit the burning concrete. He pulled it back quickly, looking reproachfully up at the sunburned lifeguard in his tall chair, who was yelling at a couple of guilty-faced children for having chicken fights in the water. Rubbing his burned hand with his thumb, his eyes darted past the change room doors and back down to the fluffy lint of his green towel.

Percy's eyes jerked back to the change room, and he leapt instinctively to his feet. Annabeth was stepping out of the girls' changing rooms, her arms clutched nervously around her stomach and her eyes darting around the pool. Her honey-coloured curls, glinting gold in the sunlight, were tied up into a half ponytail, and she was wearing a dark blue bikini that tied around her neck and had an artistic knot around in the middle. The bottom had the same knots, slightly smaller, on each side, and the entire thing was dotted with little white anchors.

Percy swallowed. He didn't think he had ever seen so much of Annabeth's _skin._

She had _very_ nice skin.

Frozen to the spot he stood, Percy watched Annabeth's eyes scan the pool deck in confusion, finally coming to a halt on him. Their eyes met, and suddenly Percy could move again. He took a couple hurried steps towards Annabeth, but his foot landed on the crack between the concrete and the pool, twisting to the side. He stumbled on nothing at all, and suddenly his arms were flailing and –

Yeah, he'd fallen straight into the water. _Great job, Percy,_ he berated himself as he felt his calf smack down hard on the bottom of the pool, and he gasped in pain, inhaling a large mouthful of water. He came up coughing a minute later and dragged himself out of the water, his face burning almost as much as his calf. He looked back over at Annabeth, who was biting her lip to stop from laughing, her eyes wide in a mixture of amusement and concern. Percy struggled to his feet and limped over to her, trying to smile confidently but wincing in pain instead.

Annabeth stared at him for a few seconds in dumbfounded silence. Then she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach and doubling over as Percy looked on in humiliation. Finally, she straightened up and wiped her eyes, beaming at him. He giggled weakly.

"Trying to make an entrance, Percy?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh, shut up," muttered Percy, trying to pull the soaked t-shirt away from his chest. He looked back at Annabeth, whose eyes darted guiltily up from where his hands had been.

She covered it with a smirk. " _Very_ graceful. Did you hurt yourself?"

"No," said Percy stubbornly, then wincing as his fingers pushed into the back of his calf.

Annabeth crossed her arms and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "So… have you seen the others? I was waiting for Piper and Hazel in the changing room, but they never showed. I thought they might be out here." She glanced around Percy as though she thought her friends may have been hiding behind him.

Percy shook his head. "I haven't seen them. I haven't seen Jason or Leo either, actually. Or Frank. I think we're the only ones here."

Annabeth scratched at the end of her nose and looked up at Percy in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't they show?"

Percy shrugged. "Family emergency, um…?"

Annabeth gasped and smacked her forehead, making Percy jump back in surprise and almost trip back into the pool. Annabeth grabbed his arm and pulled him upright. "You seem determined to go swimming," she grinned.

Percy scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah. It's your fault; you scared me. What did you do that for?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because, moron, I thought of something."

"And you're going to tell me, or…?"

Annabeth smacked his arm playfully. "Yes. Obviously. I don't think it's a coincidence that none of our friends showed up."

Percy clicked his tongue. "You're still not telling me why."

"I'm not finished, just shut up and let me talk."

"Okay, okay," grinned Percy.

"Have you noticed," she continued, "how every time you and I start talking, all the others instantly have somewhere else to go?"

Percy chewed thoughtfully on his lip. Now that she mentioned it, he realized it was true. Every time he got somewhat close to Annabeth, everyone else seemed to disappear. "I'd never really thought about it."

"Of course _you_ haven't, bonehead. But I have. Now, I know that Piper considers herself quite the matchmaker. And now none of our friends showed up to a carefully planned gathering. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Percy stared at her wide, meaningful eyes in confusion. "Um…"

She sighed. "Think about it."

He stared into the blue ripples of the pool, watching them bump up against the hot concrete and splash over the side.

 _Piper considers herself quite the matchmaker._

He groaned in realization. "They're setting us up?"

Annabeth grinned widely in confirmation. "They're setting us up!"

For a moment, the two stared at each other wide-eyed in complete silence. Then, very quietly, Annabeth began to giggle. Percy found his own face widening in a grin, and Annabeth laughed harder. After a moment they were both laughing hysterically, doubling over with tears running down their faces. They laughed until the people around them began to stare, but Percy didn't care. He decided he liked it when Annabeth laughed; it sounded so carefree and happy. Somewhere in their laughter they both collapsed down onto the pavement, and soon they were lying side by side, laughing joyfully. Finally, they both straightened, wiping tears away and beaming at each other.

"Imagine!" choked Annabeth. "They tried to set _us_ up!"

Percy grinned at her. Her blonde curls tumbled messily around her shoulders, and her grey eyes sparkled with mirth. Her cheeks had turned bright, rosy red. Percy felt his grin fade slightly. "Is it really that ridiculous?" he asked quietly.

He watched as Annabeth's chuckles slowed and her smile faded. She stared into his eyes, her expression thoughtful. "I—I suppose not."

Percy noticed how her cheeks reddened slightly. His heart fluttered, and a small fraction of his brain wondered why. The rest was fixed on Annabeth. "Then what—what can we do?"

Annabeth smiled softly, and placed both of her small, soft hands over his. "We become friends again. We forgive each other and we go from there."

Percy smiled back. "I could do that."

She grinned at him, cocking her head to the side slightly. "So, Percy. How are you?"

And so the conversation began, and for several hours they sat side by side, feet dangling in the cool pool water and the hot sun beating down on their backs. Long lost conversation flew by, and together they caught up on all the moments that they had missed.

Percy's chest felt warm. He knew it still wouldn't be a fast restart; perhaps they would only even talk a few times in the coming months, but he could feel that a couple more bricks had fallen from the wall between them. His current theory was that he couldn't bring it down too fast, or everything would collapse.

No, this was the best way. A little friendship here and there. It was nice, though, having even just a bit of the comfort of their old friendship back. He found himself staring down at her shoulder as they talked, inspecting the hues of her blonde hair and the way her tan shoulders had a very faint sprinkling of freckles. Percy had the oddest urge to touch them.

"We were a bit stupid when we were younger, weren't we," Annabeth was saying. "I mean… we should have forgiven each other."

Percy found himself nodding. "Yeah. Too stubborn, I guess."

"Yeah, pride isn't always good," she agreed.

He smirked and raised an eyebrow. "When is it ever good?"

Annabeth shrugged thoughtfully. "I guess when you have a reputation. Sometimes you have to be prideful to, you know, uphold it."

Percy scoffed. "Yeah, I guess you would know."

Annabeth's eyes widened in slight hurt. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Annabeth, I don't think that it's a _bad_ thing that you're prideful," Percy babbled.

Her eyes narrowed. "You think _I'm_ prideful?"

"Well… yeah… you have been avoiding me for the past few _years_. But that's okay, it—"

Annabeth laughed, but it didn't sound like her earlier, happier chuckle. It was high and humorless. "Oh, so it's _my_ fault. Yeah. Okay. I _tried_ Percy. I tried for _months_ to be your friend. I tried to catch your eye and smile at you and I hoped, oh I _hoped_ that we could be friends. But I gave up, eventually. You seemed so determined to shut me out, and now you're saying it's all _my_ fault? Don't you _dare,_ Percy Jackson."

Percy froze, wondering where the conversation had gone wrong. "No! I mean, I know I was a little… distant for a while, but…but I can forgive you Annabeth, for what you did, and…"

He knew instantly that he had said something wrong. Annabeth's eyes bulged, and she leapt to her feet. "What I _did?_ Do you still not get it, Percy? I was _never_ the one that hurt you. So I broke a promise. I broke one _little_ promise. But I thought that even _you_ would have realized by now that I saved your _ass_ from that monster. If it wasn't for me, you might not even be _here_ right now. You could be—"

"ENOUGH!" Percy thundered, suddenly on his feet too. A small part of him told him to back down, but his temper flared and drowned it out. He glared over at Annabeth in disbelief. "You really… you really think that it was _right_ to break that promise? I said I could forgive you, and I can, but you still broke the biggest promise I ever trusted you with, and if you think that it doesn't take a little time to get over that—"

Annabeth laughed hysterically again, and tried in vain to wipe away the few tears of frustration that had started to run down her cheeks. She looked away from Percy for a minute, and when she turned back, her voice trembled as she spoke. "Percy, that was the hardest day of my life. I fought with myself for hours, but eventually I decided that I had to. I couldn't live without you and that was more important than some _promise_ , and…"

Annabeth's voice shifted to the back of his mind, and Percy found himself watching the way she waved her arms as she spoke. Her curls bobbed around her, tumbling messily down her back, and he watched in fascination as the freckles on her shoulders danced. And all of a sudden… it hit him.

She had grown up. He didn't know when, and he didn't know how, but somehow, when he hadn't been paying attention, Annabeth Chase had grown up. She was taller, much taller, and somewhere along the way her chubby baby fat had disappeared, and she looked _fit_. Percy wondered if she worked out. As his eyes drifted up to her face, he realized that her cheeks were sharper, more defined. The babyish dimples had faded. Her nose was cute… he wondered if he had ever noticed it before. It had a tiny sprinkle of the palest freckles, that seemed to be drowning in the blood that had rushed to her cheeks in her anger. Her eyes were their usual grey, but Percy had never noticed the little blue specks that swam about in the stormy, gunmetal colour. Her lips were… Percy lowered his eyes.

Looking down didn't help at all, though. Percy's felt his eyes snapping back up to her face, his cheeks darkening. Somewhere along the way, Annabeth Chase had stopped being small and cute. She had become _hot._

And it _really_ wasn't helping his focus.

"Percy. _Percy!_ " she snapped. "Oh my God. You aren't even listening to me." She dug her hands into her hair and looked around widely. "Sometimes you just… you're just so… sometimes I just _hate_ you, Percy Jackson!"

Percy stepped back in surprise at the sting of her words. Annabeth's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to apologize, but Percy's temper flared back up and he cut her off. "That's fine with me, _Annabeth_ ," he said coldly, "because guess what? Sometimes, I really hate you too."

Annabeth flinched visibly. "I—I hate you."

"Well, I _hate you too_."

Annabeth stepped back and took a shuddering breath, shaking her head. "I—I'm leaving."

With that, she turned on her heel and hurried away, but not before Percy saw the first tear run down her cheek. He instantly felt himself fill with guilt.

He hadn't really meant it. He hadn't meant any of it. He _didn't_ hate Annabeth. It had been the anger talking, and he cursed himself for letting his temper get the best of him again. _I can't keep doing this_ , he thought, watching her curls disappear into the change room. _I need to fix it._

He sat down on the pool deck with a shaky breath. Regret at the words he had never meant to be flooded his senses, and he buried his head in his hands. She was right. She had _always_ been right. Annabeth Chase had saved him from his biggest monster, and he had never even thanked her for it. He had even hated her for it.

 _Not anymore,_ thought Percy, standing up and gathering his things with more force than was maybe necessary. He would put an end to this. He had to.

 _Not anymore._

* * *

 **A/N: HELLO PEEPS. Ahhh I know this is so much later than I meant it to be and I'm so so sorry for that but a) I was in Poland (seriously I wrote the entire second half of this chapter on a six hour train ride) and b) I had some serious writer's block for the first half of the chapter. Like I'm pretty sure I started it like five times before I actually got anywhere. (Thanks to Mia for telling me they should have a picnic I was so stuck.) Anyways, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! We got some heated Percabeth ooooh... don't worry though, I promise you this fight will be short-lived. And Thalia has a secret... which you will find out soon.  
**

 **ALSO my usual thanks to my dear Rachel for editing this even though she's on vacation. You're amazing. ;) Anyways, that's all for now folks, tune in later to catch some more. As always, shout me a review and tell me what you thought, because I just looove reading your reviews. It makes me so very happy. Enjoy the last few hours of July!**

 **-GGW**


	22. Blossom

Annabeth slammed through the change room door, her hands balling into tight fists by her sides. She had pulled a thin white top over her swim suit, and her blue flip-flops smacked against the pavement as she all but ran from the pool. She waited for the smell of chlorine to fade behind her before she paused, bringing her hands up to cover her face.

 _That was_ _a disaster,_ she thought, shaking her head slowly. _Such a disaster._ She wanted nothing more than to stop right then and there, to sit down on the grass beside the sidewalk and cry.

But she couldn't do that. She was still too close to the pool, and if Percy found her…

Balling her fists again, she kicked the pole beside her as hard as she could, yelping when all it did was stub her toe. She stamped her foot hard on the ground, letting out a frustrated groan when a couple of tears dripped down her cheeks. She wanted to scream and pull her hair and punch something and just sit down and cry all at the same time.

Once the pain in her toe subsided, she began to walk again, stomping faster and faster until she was sprinting away from the pool. The sound of her flip-flops on the pavement was all too familiar. It felt similar—much too similar—to _that_ day, the one where the throbbing of her shoes against the sidewalk was almost as loud as the throbbing in her head as she ran away from the boy with his broken promises. She felt fresh tears roll down her cheeks at the memory, but ignored them, not slowing her frantic pace. Her breath was heavy in her ears, and she barely noticed as she flew past a tiny boy on a tricycle and a dark-haired girl who dropped her popsicle as Annabeth passed.

Finally, as the tears in her eyes blurred her vision and the stitch in her side became too much to bear, Annabeth slowed her run, gasping for air and wiping her eyes.

"Annabeth! _Annabeth!"_

Annabeth froze at the sound of her own name, suddenly filled with irrational fear. But it wasn't Percy's voice that called her, and she slowly turned to face the voice.

It was Piper, running towards her with her huge eyes full of concern. Annabeth realized a second too late that it had been _Piper_ she had passed on the street corner, Piper who dropped her popsicle.

"Annabeth," gasped Piper, coming to a halt in front of her. "What— _what_ …are you…okay?"

Annabeth stared at her for a long moment. "It was you," she said in a shaky voice. "It was your plan, wasn't it? _You_ left me with… with _him_ at the pool."

Piper was shaking her head slowly in confusion. "I—I…"

"This was all _your_ idea. _You_ decided that it would be a good idea to tell everyone not to come to the pool today. _You_ thought it would be a good idea to leave me alone at the pool with Percy Jackson. Well, guess what, Piper? _You thought wrong._ " Annabeth raked her hands through her hair, feeling slightly crazy. "What did I tell you Piper, _four years ago_ , when we first met? You thought I was looking at Percy Jackson _like that._ I told you that there was _too much history there._ Didn't I tell you that?" Annabeth raised her voice. " _Didn't I?_ "

Piper eyes were comically wide, but Annabeth didn't feel like laughing. "I didn't… Annabeth, I never thought…'"

"Oh, that's obvious. _You never thought._ I thought you were _observant_ , Piper. It would _never_ work between me and Percy Jackson." Annabeth was shouting now, but she didn't know how to slow down her breathing. "And you have the _nerve_ to try to _set me up_ with him? You shouldn't… you don't… _how could you do that to me?_ "

Annabeth's chest was heaving and her breath came in short gasps. She couldn't stop the tears that dripped down her cheeks, and all at once she felt so weak and powerless that she just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

So she did. She sank to the curb and put her head in her hands, hating how much emotion she was showing, the emotion she normally kept bottled away for no one to see.

She heard Piper take a deep breath, her voice shaky. "Annabeth… I am so, _so_ sorry. I just—I didn't—I had no idea. I should never have—well, done _anything_. Meddle or… I don't know. I—I'm sorry."

Annabeth glanced up, taking deep breaths to steady her sobbing.

Piper's eyes were full of tears. "I just… I don't know what to _say_ except—I'm so sorry. I really am." Her voice cracked, and Annabeth felt the anger at her best friend reluctantly dissipate.

Piper took one cautious step towards her, then another. When she didn't move, Piper closed the distance between them, sitting down on the curb and wrapping Annabeth in her arms. For a few minutes, she let Annabeth sob into her shoulder, murmuring soft words of comfort. Piper smelled sweet, like home, and after a minute Annabeth's sobs turned to whimpers. Finally, she took a quaking breath and drew away from Piper, her eyes red and her nose running.

"No, I—I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I'm so sorry I yelled at you, Piper. It really wasn't your fault. I—I'm not really mad at you. I just… you were there, and…"

"Shh, shh, honey," Piper cooed, pulling Annabeth back into her arms and moving backwards, off the curb and onto the soft grass of the boulevard. "Of course I forgive you. It's _me_ who should be saying sorry. I was _way_ out of line trying to set you up with Percy. I just…I thought it could work, but I shouldn't have tried to interfere."

Annabeth sighed. "No, no, it makes sense. I can see it. And maybe it could be… if not for… well, the past. I should have told you sooner. I should've known you'd try this at some point."

Piper gave her head a little, confused shake and squeezed Annabeth's hand. "What should you have told me?"

Annabeth lifted her head and let out a long, quivering breath. "Everything."

Piper shifted, crossing her legs and pulling one of Annabeth's hands into her lap. "Everything?" she asked softly.

Annabeth nodded, letting out a bitter little laugh. "I'll have to start from the beginning. It's a long story."

Piper gave her a little lopsided smile. "I've got time."

Annabeth took one last big breath, then began. "Percy and I, well—we've been friends since we were babies. I don't remember—I was only six months old, how could I? —but apparently we met at the park. We played in the sandbox, and I guess we were friends right from the start. But I suppose the real story begins about three years later. When we were both three, Percy's dad passed away. Heart-attack. Percy — he never really talks about it. He was only three, but I get the feeling that he… _remembers_ it." She paused, bracing herself for the next part.

Piper began tracing invisible lines on Annabeth's hand with her manicured fingertips as she listened, an absentminded habit of hers that always calmed Annabeth down.

She bit her lip and exhaled slowly through her nose. "Um… anyways, about four years later, when we were both seven, Percy's mom, Sally, met this new guy called… Gabe." Her voice broke a little on the name, and for a moment she didn't think she could go on. But Piper's warm hand squeezed hers, and with a shaky breath, she continued. "Gabe was… really nice, to be honest. Sally was crazy about him, and—I mean, even I thought he was sweet. But of course, I couldn't see past the man who complimented my dress and my curls the first day I met him."

Annabeth clenched her teeth and slammed her fist down hard on the ground, making Piper jump in surprise. " _God_ , I was such an _idiot_. I couldn't see past the end of my own nose. I couldn't see that someone else's opinion could—could possibly be right. Percy hated him, of course. Hated him right from the beginning. He even made me promise… promise never to marry a man like Gabe. Of course, at the time, I didn't think much of it.

"It wasn't until after Sally and Gabe got married that things started getting… well, weird. Percy suddenly closed up. Like, he stopped inviting me to his house, and whenever home was mentioned he changed the subject. He always seemed sort of depressed. And then — one day…" Annabeth took another shaky breath, and when she continued her voice sounded hoarse. "He came to school with a bruise on his cheek."

Piper's hands slowly covered her mouth, her eyes widening in horrified understanding. "Oh no. _God,_ no," she said in a hushed voice.

Annabeth gave a tiny, bitter laugh. "You're quicker to understand than I was. He told me that he got hit with a soccer ball. Seemed weird to me, but I didn't think that he would _lie_ to me. They kept appearing, those bruises, day after day, week after week. One night, when we were walking home, he _collapsed._ But _still_ it took me longer than that to understand. And when I did… when I finally did… he made me _promise_ not to tell a soul."

Annabeth paused for a breath. Her eyes felt a little too damp again, and she brushed them impatiently. Piper's hands were still over her mouth, and she was slowly shaking her head. "And so… I didn't. I didn't tell _anyone_. Not when the bruises turned to blood. Not when he came to my window early one morning and I covered the bruises with my stepmom's makeup. Not when… not even when Gabe hit _me_." Annabeth's voice trailed off, and beside her, Piper gave a tiny sob. "And then one day… Percy didn't show up at school. And I _panicked_. It was the most terrified I've ever been. I wrestled with myself for a couple hours, but I told them, in the end. I told the guidance counselor, and she called the police. I slipped away from her and ran all the way to Percy's house. They were there already, leading Gabe outside when I got there. He had a knife, and he saw me, and he came towards me, and — "

She stopped, both trying to remember the scene and to block those awful, awful memories out. "I couldn't run away. He started yelling at me, and he raised the knife, and he just looked so — so _wild_ in that moment that I thought I was going to die. But then he staggered, and cut my cheek with the knife instead. A police officer shot him in the back of the head."

Piper was sobbing silently beside her, and Annabeth couldn't breathe for a minute. She ran a finger absently over the small white scar on her cheek, barely two inches long and almost completely faded through the healing hands of time. But not quite. The blood was still swimming before her eyes.

She focused, shutting her eyes. It was over now. "When Percy found me, with blood…everywhere… he was furious. I'd broken my promise. He told me that he hated me… and that he would never speak to me again."

Piper gave a little choked sob into her hand. "Annabeth. Oh, _Annabeth_."

Annabeth sighed and dug the butts of her palms into her eyes, taking big, shaky breaths. Piper's arms wrapped around her again and for a few minutes she let herself sit like that, breathing deeply as Piper silently rubbed tiny circles on her back.

She bit her lip. "I think now… I think he was just terrified of Gabe hurting me— that it would somehow have been his fault. And then seeing me hurt, thinking of how much worse it could have been… I guess he just panicked.

"He didn't — Percy didn't speak to me for a while after that. By the time he'd started giving me little smiles in the halls again, I had given up. I was determined to hate him back. We didn't talk for two _years_. Then, in seventh grade, we were paired up for that project in history with Mrs. Dodds, you remember?" Piper nodded, a half smile on her face.

Annabeth let out a little laugh. "It was… weird. We almost got along—almost made up, I think, but Percy fell asleep and then woke up from nightmare, and he had some sort of panic attack. I tried to help, but at that point—I almost felt like I didn't even _know_ him anymore, you know? He ran home, and we didn't exchange more than a couple words for few years after that, until last winter, we made an agreement. We would start trying… _trying_ to be friends."

"And… did you?"

Annabeth pressed her lips together, "Well, you see, one of our friends decided to set us up at the pool."

Piper looked even more horrified. "To think…" she whispered, staring into nothing. "Annabeth — I can't believe — "

"Yeah," Annabeth muttered. "That didn't go so well." She quickly relieved the pool scene again for Piper.

Her friend's eyes grew even wider in guilt, which Annabeth hadn't known was possible. "Look, Annabeth, I am so, _so_ sorry, I didn't know — _anything._ "

"I know you didn't," said Annabeth reassuringly. "That's — well, that's why I'm telling you now. And it's okay, really. I—I'm fine."

How many times had she told that lie, even to the people closest to her?

She picked at a piece of grass on the ground, trying to ignore the tears that still pricked at the corners of her vision. After a moment of silence, Piper's hand reached out and gently propped itself under Annabeth's chin, lifting her face so that she looked at Piper.

"Alright," her best friend said, a new tone in her voice. "Now you listen to me. You are the _strongest_ person I know, Annabeth Chase. You are so much damn stronger than I ever could be. I mean, come on. You're Annabeth Chase. You're a sophomore in high school, you have _tons_ of friends, you're on the track team, the basketball team, _and_ the volleyball team, and your grades are probably the highest on this continent. I honestly don't know how you do it." Annabeth had to let out a little laugh at that.

Piper smiled, her pretty eyes bright and fierce. "And you are _not_ going to let a friend from your past take all that away from you. You hear me?"

Annabeth smiled a little. "Yeah, I hear you."

"So here's what you're going to do," Piper continued bossily. "You're going to going to hold your head high, and you are going to march through this year like nobody's business, and you are going to keep on being the amazing Annabeth Chase. You understand me?"

Annabeth had to grin at her friend's impromptu motivational speech. Piper grinned back, and leapt to her feet, holding out her hand to Annabeth. She grabbed it, letting Piper pull her up.

"Now," said Piper. "You have been through far too much today. We are going to get you home, and we're going to get you a cold drink, maybe some ice-cream, and after that maybe we can go back-to-school shopping, how does that sound? And I'm treating for everything, because the hell you've had today is mostly my fault."

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth teased softly, crossing her arms. "How much your fault, exactly?"

Piper's playful kaleidoscope eyes rolled up in her head. "Like, 78% my fault. Because Thalia and Leo were also in favor, but it was my idea."

"Very mathematically accurate."

"Oh, shut up. So. Food and shopping and then how about my house for a Harry Potter marathon?"

Annabeth smiled warmly. "That sounds lovely. You should be a motivational speaker."

Piper beamed at her. "I should, shouldn't I? Now let's go, girl. Chin up, smile on and forward march!"

Annabeth took Piper's arm with a grin, letting her best friend pull her down the street. It felt sort of like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders; she was no longer the only person who knew the whole story. She was sharing the load now, with someone who cared about her and wasn't planning on leaving her anytime soon. Someone who reminded her that she had friends who loved her, even when it didn't feel like it.

And she realized with a start that even though the worst day of her life had been over four years ago, she was finally— _finally_ starting to get over it.

* * *

Annabeth's fingers paused on her lock, and she looked up with a snort. "You're kidding me."

Piper grinned and shook her head earnestly, the two long French braids she had in her dark hair swishing. "Totally serious. I'm telling you, it happened."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, shifting her weight and resting her hand on her hip. "So you're telling me that Leo climbed out of a _window_ in math class?"

Piper nodded eagerly. "I swear. Miss Daisy only left the class for like three minutes and when she got back Leo was long gone. Of course, she didn't even notice."

Annabeth leaned back against her locker. "No way. I call bull."

"Ask anyone!" insisted Piper, looking like she was trying to keep a straight face. "It was the funniest thing ever, I swear. I have no idea how no one caught him but he was gone before I could blink. Like, seriously, who does that? Ask Thalia or something, I know you'll believe _her._ "

"Ask me what?"

They turned to face Thalia, who was walking up behind them leafing through a pile of dog-eared papers. She looked up at them with a slight smile.

"Piper says that Leo climbed out the window in math."

Thalia's smile widened. "Oh yeah! Miss Daisy got called out of the room and the second she was gone Leo grabbed his bag and pulled the window open and he just climbed out. I'm surprised no one caught him. He was long gone before Miss Flower-head even got back. She didn't even notice he was gone though, she's about as smart as her name implies."

Annabeth scoffed and looked back and forth between Piper and Thalia. "You're seriously not kidding?"

They both shook their heads solemnly.

She gave her head a tiny shake and turned back to her locker. "What happens in fourth-period math stays in fourth-period math, I suppose. Hey, have you guys finished up that research project for English? It took me like six hours to do, I was up half the night finishing it Saturday."

Thalia snorted and went back to shuffling through her papers. "First of all, who stays up late finishing homework _on a Saturday_ , and second of all, when is that even due?"

"Um, tomorrow, I think."

"Tomorrow?!" Thalia's head whipped up in alarm. "What do you mean, _tomorrow_? I haven't even started it!"

Piper snickered. "Well you better start."

With a scowl, Thalia swung her backpack around and stuffed her papers in. "I guess I know where I'm spending my evening. The library should be honoured by my presence." She pulled her backpack back onto her shoulder and gave the others a little half smile. "I'll see you girls later." She turned and quickly hurried off, her shoulder bumping into Annabeth's as she shoved by, pushing Annabeth into the locker.

"Hey!" she protested to Thalia's retreating back. Thalia gave her a saucy little wave over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner. Scowling and rubbing her bruised shoulder, Annabeth turned back to Piper. "So it's Tuesday, no volleyball. That mean you're walking home with me?"

Piper started and turned her head away from where Thalia had disappeared to look at Annabeth, though she got the impression Piper was staring right through her. "What? Oh, um… I can't, I actually have to, um, follow Thalia, I just realized that I'm not finished that paper so, um, yeah. Bye, see you." She turned in a circle, walked into Annabeth's locker door, and set off in the opposite direction of the library.

Annabeth blinked bewilderedly after her. "Um, okay…?"

Annabeth sighed and turned back to her locker. It looked like she would be walking home alone today. She shuffled through some neatly stacked papers on the top shelf of her pristine locker, shoved a couple books inside and slammed the door shut. She yelped and stepped back, nearly tripping over her feet in surprise.

Percy Jackson was standing beside her locker. She wasn't sure how long he had been standing behind the door, fidgeting with his hands, but at the sound of her voice his head snapped up and he gave her a nervous grin.

"Hi Annabeth, I…"

Annabeth's shock faded quickly and she found it quickly replaced with a cold dislike. She gave Percy and curt nod and stalked passed him, not turning back at his small squawk of protest. She didn't know what he wanted, but she knew that she was determined not to give it to him. She hurried down the hallway her back straight and her chin up.

 _Hold your head up high._

"Annabeth! Annabeth, wait!"

She ignored his worried words behind her and walked faster. She wouldn't let him catch her. Maybe if she pretended he wasn't there, he would just go away.

"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth…"

She wouldn't turn. She couldn't turn. She refused to get hurt again.

"You know I won't stop until you talk to me, Annie. We have the same route home. I'll just follow you all the way home, chanting your name." Percy's voice said from behind her. She could almost hear the smirk in his tone.

All of a suddenly her temper got the best of her and she whipped around, her blonde curls flying out behind her. Her eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. "First of all, never call me Annie _ever_ again. Second of all, _why?_ Why are you following me? Why are you so determined to have me speak to you? I thought that you _hated_ me? Or was that just another lie?" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second, trying to calm down. " _What_ _do_ _you_ _want_?"

Percy blinked at her, then swallowed. "Can I walk home with you?"

Annabeth gaped at him for a moment, trying to read the intention behind his puppy-dog green eyes. After a moment, she huffed and turned away without a word, continuing down the hall at a slightly slower pace than before. After a moment, Percy caught up with her.

"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth, I asked you if you would—"

"I never said no," Annabeth interrupted. "But I'm not interested in a conversation, so if you value your life I would shut up."

She glanced over at Percy, who obediently snapped his mouth shut and walked in silence. For several blocks they walked like that, side by side in complete silence. Somehow, it didn't even seem that uncomfortable. Every few minutes, Annabeth snuck a glance at her silent companion, and every time she found his bright eyes trained on her. She always turned away before he could flash her a goofy smile.

When they reached the corner where they had to go in different directions, Percy spoke for the first time since they had left the school.

"Bye, Annabeth," he said in a soft voice. "I'll see you tomorrow." And without another word he hurried off down his own street, leaving Annabeth to stare in bewilderment at his retreating back, trying to guess the motive of his odd behavior. It was so… un _-Percy_ -like that Annabeth didn't know what to think. Calm and silent and almost—pointless.

She shook her head, trying to clear it of the confusing thoughts. She didn't want to think about Percy and the ridiculous things he did, so instead she fixed her mind firmly on homework and walked home, insistent on not letting her mind drift back to the boy with the raven hair.

Not even a little bit.

Not even at all.

* * *

The next day it happened again.

After Thalia had hurried off to the library to finish some other piece of incomplete homework and Piper had disappeared mysteriously with a stunted explanation, Annabeth found Percy standing silently beside her locker. He greeted her with a little smile and followed behind her like a faithful dog when she started off home. They didn't speak a single word until they reached their crossroads, when Percy offered her a quiet goodbye and a smile which she didn't return. Then he left her alone with the baffling thoughts that swirled around in her mind, beating at the inside of her head.

The third day it happened the questions seemed more intent, pounding at the inside of her skull in pursuit of escape until she thought her head would explode. And finally, halfway home she couldn't take it anymore. She stopped walking, letting Percy come to a halt and turn to face her with a puzzled look on her face before she exploded.

"Okay, _what_ are you doing?"

"Walking home…?" Percy answered timidly.

Annabeth gave a tiny growl and stamped her foot in frustration. "But _why?_ What is this? Why are you walking home with me every day? You have friends who walk this way, so why choose me? We barely ever have a civil conversation, and last time we came close we left on worse terms than ever. So _what_ are you doing? What's with this silent, stoic thing? Is there something I'm missing here or are you _trying_ to drive me insane?"

Percy swallowed. Annabeth tried not to let her eyes follow the movement of his throat, and suddenly realized he was a good three or four inches taller than her.

When had _that_ happened?

His voice broke her out of her thoughts. "You were right."

"I was…what? Right about _what?_ "

"Everything," Percy sighed, slumping against a tree in defeat.

"I don't—"

Percy suddenly straightened and earnestly stared into her eyes, like if he stared hard enough she would understand. He took a shaky little breath. "Listen, Annabeth, I've known it for a long time. And I'm sorry, I really am. You've always been right, and I've always been wrong, but I've always been such a stubborn _ass_ that…"

"Percy…" Annabeth said quietly.

He sighed, shutting his eyes and pressing his fingers into his temples. "No, listen. You _saved_ me, Annabeth. You had to break that promise, and I've always known it. It was never your fault. I was just so _angry_ with everything, and scared that you or my mom was going to get hurt… and I took it out on you. And then I was angry that I lost you and you were always so… I don't know, _right_. You saved my _life_ and then you endured me for years and I just… I'm sorry. You've always been right, and I've always known it."

Annabeth was silent. A minute of silence stretched into two, and Annabeth could feel the weight of it pressing down on her, on both of them, threatening to crush them.

"Why now?" her voice was barely above a whisper. "We haven't been friends in years, so… what is it about _now_ that made you decide to realize this?"

Percy's mouth twitched. "You've grown up, Annabeth."

"What does that have to do with—"

"I always thought we would become friends again. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was convinced of it. For the longest time. But when were at that pool, I just… I noticed all of a sudden that you weren't the cubby little girl I knew when we were little and… I, well, I thought that if I didn't do something about it _now_ I would lose you forever. So..." he shrugged, his broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his blue hoodie. "Here I am."

Annabeth stared at him, her cheeks pink. Then she felt the corner of her mouth twitch. "Chubby?"

"I didn't mean—I don't think—" Percy spluttered, instantly turning scarlet. Annabeth laughed, the bubble of laughter in her throat and spilling out into the air, washing the weight of the silence away.

"Don't sweat it, you dork."

Percy swallowed and gave her a weak smile. "So are we friends again?"

Annabeth felt the smile fade from her face, and she cocked her head slightly, staring thoughtfully into Percy's eyes. "I don't know. Doesn't it… well doesn't it all seem kind of _sudden_ to you? I thought that we were starting to become friends again, you know? Nice and slowly… and now you think we should just… what, forget everything and be friends? For good?" She bit her lip. "I guess I'm just tired of… saying we'll be friends, and then fighting again and losing it. It's just—it's really _hard._ "

Percy heaved a sigh and lifted his arms slightly. They fell down to his sides with a clap. "I had some sort of theory that if we became friends all slowly and calmly it would… I don't know… be easier. But that didn't work and I kind of feel like it's now… now or never. If you don't want to… I'll leave you alone, I promise. I'll never bother you again. But if you think we could still be friends, well…" He gave her a nervous smile. Annabeth tried to ignore the little dimple in his left cheek.

For another moment of heavy silence, Annabeth chewed on her lip, her eyes clouded in thought. Finally, she gave Percy a little half-smile and reached out to take his hand in both of hers. "I guess we could give it a try."

Percy's eyes lit up, and he stepped closer to her. "You're—you're serious?"

Annabeth nodded slowly. "Yeah… but just… don't expect everything to be perfect right away, okay?"

"Okay," said Percy with a soft smile. "I won't."

Annabeth gave him a grateful look. "So, what do friends do?"

"Well," Percy scratched his chin, feigning thoughtfulness, "I think they walk home together sometimes."

Annabeth let a lopsided grin slip onto her face. "Lead the way, I guess."

As they walked through the neighbourhood, their awkward stutter of a conversation slowly faded into a cautious, yet comfortable banter, and after years of hibernation, the tiny blossom of friendship began to bloom.

* * *

 **A/N: HELLO MY FRIENDS I am back and I apologize for the tardiness of the chapter as well as the fact that it's like 90% dialogue. I do hope you've enjoyed it. Now the majority of the Percabeth fighting is over, so yay! I mean, there _might_ be a couple of little fights, but we're done with the long-lasting ones. Up next chapter: the return of a certain character... can you guess who?**

 **My usual thanks go out to Rachel for betaing because you literally make everything I write like 300 times better. (Even if I do edit your edits.) As is always the case, I worked really hard on this chapter so I would really love it if you could leave me a review and tell me what you think! Heck, it may even inspire me to update faster. ;) Thanks for reading, friends. AND THANK YOU FOR 300 FOLLOWS YOU'RE ALL THE BEST.**

 **-GGW**


	23. Movie Magic

Percy twirled his pencil between his fingers, staring out the window into the crisp air. Brightly coloured leaves waved merrily in the October wind, and he watched as they fluttered past the window and down to the dying grass below. A gentle breath of wind slipped past the slightly open window, tickling Percy's face as though trying to wake his sleepy mind.

"...so the probability that the last letter would be an _A_ would be… what? Anyone?" The teacher glanced around, searching for her next victim. "How about… Percy Jackson?"

Percy started awake at the sound of his name, glancing around guiltily at the expectant looks of his classmates. He looked up at the teacher and gulped blankly. _What was the question, again?_

"Five-eighths," hissed Annabeth in his ear from behind him, making him jump slightly. "Say five-eighths." Percy repeated it quickly and the teacher nodded, moving on.

Percy turned to Annabeth with a grin. "Thanks, Wise Girl."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow dryly. "Creative."

"You are my savior!" Percy whispered as loudly as he dared, leaning back in his chair so that it hit Annabeth's desk. She shoved his head forwards so he fell back into his seat.

"Shut up, you idiot," she hissed, tapping his ear so he turned back to the front. Percy chuckled.

For the next ten minutes Percy doodled on the corner of his paper, ignoring the slightly background buzz of his teacher's voice.

"Ms. Thea?" The crackle of the intercom interrupted Ms. Thea's drone, and Percy glanced up by force of habit.

"Yes?" Ms. Thea asked impatiently, tapping her pointer against her foot.

There was a pause, then the crackly voice over the intercom continued. "Can you send Percy Jackson down to the office? He'll be excused from the rest of class."

Percy mind was instantly racing with alarm. Was in trouble? What had he done this time? He had been there when Leo stuffed that old sandwich in Nancy Bobofit's locker… but no, that had been Leo, not him. What then? Maybe someone he knew was hurt. His mom? His mom couldn't be hurt; he wouldn't know what to do if that was the case.

His head was starting to spin.

" _Percy!_ "

Annabeth's voice broke through his thoughts, and he looked up. Half the class was staring at him, waiting for him to leave. At the front of the room, Ms. Thea was tapping her pointer menacingly. Percy gulped, scooping up his backpack as he left the room.

In the two minutes it took him to walk to the office, Percy had dissolved into full panic mode. He figured he had two options: either he had done something wrong (he honestly didn't remember having done anything, but he could have missed something), or something else was wrong.

Neither of the options was good. By the time he reached the office and was grimacing nervously at the secretary, he was pretty sure he was sweating. The secretary smiled and pointed him in the direction of the principal's office.

 _Oh great, that's even worse_.

The principal, Mr. Brunner, looked up at him with a smile as Percy hesitantly shuffled in, and pushed his wheelchair forward. Percy quickly surveyed the room; it was full of pictures of kids in oranges shirts at some sort of camp, and in the corner a redheaded girl was quietly inspecting a map of the world. Outside the big picture window, the orange leaves were still waving at him.

He turned his attention back to the principal, who was beginning to speak. "Now, Mr. Jackson—" started Mr. Brunner.

"I didn't do it!" blurted Percy, instantly regretting the words. _Way to sound guilty, Percy._

But Mr. Brunner simply smiled. "Relax, Mr. Jackson. You're not in trouble. We have a new student who will be in a few of your classes and I thought it would be nice if you could give her a tour of the school."

Percy blinked at him. "Me? But I'm…"

"Perfectly competent, I assure you. Several of your teachers recommended you to me."

Percy just stared at him until the principal started to look slightly concerned.

"Of course, if you prefer, I can ask someone else, I just thought you may enjoy—"

"Oh, of course," Percy added hastily. "I would love to, I was just… surprised, that's all."

Mr. Brunner gave him a wide smile, and Percy was suddenly struck at how friendly he seemed. Teachers didn't usually seem so… well, _human_ to him. "Wonderful, Percy, I would like you to meet our new student, Miss…"

At his words, Percy's gaze turned to the girl by the map, and all of a sudden those frizzy red curls seemed all too familiar. " _Rachel?!_ "

At his voice she whipped around, her curls flying out behind her, and Percy was instantly caught in a pair of familiar green eyes.

"Percy?" she asked softly.

Mr. Brunner's voice broke into their stunned silence. "Oh… do you two know each other?"

Percy wasn't sure he could speak, but Rachel nodded numbly. "Yeah, we've… met."

"Excellent!" Mr. Brunner beamed, looking between their shocked faces. "We don't have to bother with introductions, then. Percy, you are excused for the rest of the morning to show Miss. Dare around. And if you wouldn't mind showing her to her first class after lunch?"

Percy nodded slowly, his brain still catching up to recent events. "Of—of course."

"Wonderful. Well, enjoy yourselves. Thank you very much, Mr. Jackson."

Percy and Rachel took this as their cue to leave, and Mr. Brunner shut the door behind them with a soft click. They got halfway down the hall before either of them spoke again.

"So…" said Percy shyly, glancing over. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Percy Jackson," she replied, and Percy fully looked at her for the first time. She was several inches taller and slightly more filled out than she had been over a year before, and Percy thought that maybe her curls reached a little bit farther down her back. Her freckled cheeks were slightly less dimpled, but her emerald eyes were just as piercing. Percy couldn't quite think of anything to say.

"You—you live in New York now?" he asked, looking down at his foot. The memory of their last meeting was starting to play through his mind at high speed.

Rachel blinked up at him. "I've always lived in New York…"

Percy's head snapped up, and he looked at her in her confusion, searching her eyes for some trace of a joke. "But… you live in North Carolina."

"Um… _no_ , I don't." Rachel's eyebrows were scrunched in confusion. "That's where my parents have their summer home. My grandparents live there too, that's why we spend the summers there. I don't _live_ there, though. I told you that when I met you. I must have." She fell silent for a second at the sight of Percy's baffled expression. "Didn't I?"

Percy shook his head slowly, and to his surprise, Rachel burst out laughing. "Oh, my God, I never told you? And so… all this time… we've been in the same state, and you thought that I was in North Carolina? That is _so_ … wow. I can't believe it."

She dissolved into that familiar, contagious laughter of hers, and Percy felt the corner of his mouth twitch, though he wasn't sure if that was due to the strange situation, or the hiccups of incontrollable giggling that were bursting from Rachel's frame. He couldn't help but join in when one of the teacher's stuck her head out of the door and shushed them angrily.

Gasping with silent laughter, the two continued down the hall.

"So why did you decide to transfer here?" Percy asked, once they had finally stopped laughing and caught their breath. Rachel's cheeks were flushed bright red, and the mascara she had artfully applied with a light hand was smeared across the bottom of her eyes. She tried to wipe it off with her fingertips and sighed.

"Well, you remember how I told you that my dad wanted me to go to some fancy finishing school?"

Percy nodded, flashing back to their last conversation by the river side, the lazy green trees and the burbling river, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare with her eyes full of tears and her heart heavy. Her pale, freckled face, telling him to close his eyes, and then leaving, but not before…

Percy squeezed his eyes shut to stop the flow of memories.

"I went to that school," Rachel continued quietly, and Percy opened his eyes again. "I went to that school for a whole year, and I hated every damn _minute_ of it. I had no friends and I could not sit still or speak in perfect sentences, and it was just… ugh, it was hell, Percy, I hated it more than you can imagine."

"And so… you're here now?" Percy confirmed quietly, and Rachel's eyes, which were screwed shut, opened slowly again.

"Yeah. I finally convinced my dad to let me go to a school where I would actually be happy. It took months, and enough crying and pleading that I should be ashamed. But…" she sighed, a smile twitching on the corners of her pale lips, "I'm not. I'm not ashamed at _all_ because I'm finally, _finally_ at a school with one of the best art programs in the country, and I already have a good friend here, and…"

Rachel looked almost on the verge of tears again, and Percy changed the subject with a smile.

" _Friend_ , huh?"

"What?" Rachel asked distractedly, scratching at her chin.

"I'm your friend, huh? Even after our… eventful last meeting?"

"Oh, God," Rachel's face instantly flamed, turning bright red. She buried it in her hands. "No, I was hoping you would have forgotten that. Gosh, can we _please_ just forget that I ever did that, I swear I thought I wasn't ever going to see you again."

"I didn't think I'd ever see you either," admitted Percy. "…but I don't know how easily I can forget that."

She groaned, smacking her forehead with the butt of her hand. "I'm an idiot, I'm and idiot, I'm an idiot, I hate myself."

Percy laughed. "I think we might have some catching up to do."

"You _think_?" she squeaked.

"Well… how about we catch a movie on Friday or something?" Percy asked, trying to ignore the nervous fluttering of his heart.

Rachel paused from hitting her head to look up at him, a slow grin beginning to appear on her face. "Are you asking me out on a date, Percy Jackson?"

"Erm… maybe?" Percy shrugged, grinning nervously as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Rachel stared at him until he started to feel slightly anxious, then she laughed at the expression on his face. "Aw, what the heck. Sure, I'd love to go to a movie, Perce."

Percy grinned widely, then gestured down the hall. "I think we have a tour to complete."

"By all means, lead the way."

They continued slowly down the hall, chatting and laughing over a summer long gone. As they walked, Percy could almost swear he could feel the warm breeze of that summer, hear the sound of the wind in the green leaves of the trees and the cheerful chattering of the creek. And though the sounds and the breeze and the sweet smell of summer were all distant memories, the girl beside him was very much alive.

* * *

"Who was that?"

Percy looked up. Annabeth was standing beside his locker, tapping her Converse-clad foot impatiently. Her eyes trailed Rachel's mass of red hair down the hall, watching her turn the corner and disappear from sight. Percy felt an illogical surge of guilt as he stood up quickly. "That – um, that was my friend Rachel. She just transferred here. I was, um, showing her around."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "She _just_ transferred here and you're already friends?"

"Well, I knew her already," Percy rushed. "I met her a couple summers ago. We—me and my mom—went to North Carolina and I… kind of met Rachel there?" He winced. This wasn't going as well as he hoped it would. "I thought she lived there but she actually lives here, apparently."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed, resting on the place where Rachel had disappeared. "You… thought she lived in a different state than she actually does?"

"It… it's complicated." Percy scratched his head, and stuffed a couple binders into his backpack, bending some of the papers before pulling it shut. "Are we walking home today?"

Annabeth's raised eyebrows indicated that the sudden change of subjects hadn't gone unnoticed, but she seemed to choose to ignore it. "Not right away, actually. I have something I have to take care of."

"Am I tagging along?" he asked eagerly.

"Of course, idiot." She rolled her eyes. "I need my partner in crime."

"I thought Piper was your partner in crime," Percy teased as they started down the hall.

"Normally, she is," Annabeth agreed. "But it's kind of difficult to spy on your partner in crime if they're with you."

"We're spying on Piper?"

"Bingo!" said Annabeth, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "She's been acting really weird lately. Like, she keeps giving me reasons she can't walk home with me, but I know she's lying. I have to find out what she's been up to after school."

Percy smirked at her, pulling his backpack further up on his shoulder. "So why don't you just wait for her to tell you?"

Annabeth gave him an incredulous look. "And be in the dark for who knows how long? Are you crazy? I mean, what would you do if, say, Jason was doing the same thing to you?"

"Probably what you're doing now," Percy admitted, and Annabeth nodded knowingly.

"So we're stalking Piper. I tracked her as far as the football field."

"Well I'm honoured to be your chosen one." Percy said as seriously as he could manage.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, the expression on her face clearly judging him. Percy loved it. "Shut up and walk faster."

They pushed through the packed halls of the school, darting around the sluggish clumps of teenagers, who, despite the end of the day, were still on the whole moving about as slowly as they had been early in the morning. They finally pushed their way down the stairs and out onto the football field, and Annabeth grabbed Percy's arm, yanking him back and pulling him behind the bike compound. Once they had inched across the back of the compound and into the bushes that lined the field, she sat down on the ground and silently patted the damp earth beside her. Percy heaved a little sigh and joined her, resigned to the dirt stains that would probably spend the rest of the week on the back of his jeans.

Annabeth peaked over the spiky bush and into the field. She seemed to have known exactly where to sit, because Piper stood just a few feet away, glancing anxiously around the field and rubbing her bare arms against the autumn chill. The ends of her long braids danced in the breeze. She shivered again, and Percy wished he could give her a jacket or something. He was just starting to get curious when a voice spoke out from behind them.

"Annabeth? What are you doing?"

Beside him, Annabeth sprung up to her knees and turned quickly, her eyes wide and defensive. Percy jumped a little, turning as well. There was a boy standing behind them, taller than Percy, with pale blond hair and icy blue eyes that were entirely focused on Annabeth.

Percy suddenly realized that he had seen the boy before, talking and laughing with Annabeth. It was the boy that he had secretly nicknamed Douchebag, who had walked Annabeth home almost a year before, right before their snowball fight.

He felt an illogical surge of anger, and tried to push it down.

"Oh, Luke," Annabeth suddenly looked flustered, and tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Percy raised his eyebrows; Douchebag apparently had a name. "I, um… reading?" The excuse sounded lame even to Percy's ears.

He looked down at Annabeth's hands, where a book had somehow materialized. She held it up sheepishly. Douchebag— _Luke —_ still looked confused. "What—but why here?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I like it here. It's quiet."

"And cold," Luke added skeptically. Percy decided that he was liking him less by the minute, which may or may not have had something to do with how Luke kept glancing down at Annabeth's chest… the tight t-shirt she was wearing under her sweater was not helping _at all_.

"I have a high tolerance to cold," Annabeth answered weakly. Percy could see the goosebumps on her arm where her sweater had slipped off her shoulder, and he resisted the urge to pull it back up onto her shoulder.

"Huh." Luke still looked slightly disbelieving. "Well, now that I have you here, I was going to ask you… you, me, movie, Friday?" He pointed in between them with a little smirk.

Percy cringed.

"What?" asked Annabeth, who was looking back over the bushes at Piper. "I mean, yeah, sure. I'd love to. Pick me up at seven?"

Luke looked pleased. "Of course. Well, I'll see you then. Have fun… reading." He threw Percy a quick, vaguely disgusted look and strode off speedily.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Percy asked indignantly.

Annabeth turned to him in surprise, looking away from Luke's retreating back. Percy tried to tell himself she hadn't checking out blond guy's butt, because that would be… _no._ "What was _what_?"

"Did you seriously just agree to go on a _date_ with that guy?" Percy's voice was incredulous.

Annabeth looked slightly hurt. "Um… yeah… I—I like him."

Percy snorted. "Annabeth, trust me when I tell you that guy is _not_ right for you. He's so…" he gestured wordlessly after Luke. "And you're so…"

"Wow, thanks for being so specific," she answered dryly. Her expression quickly grew cooler. "Seriously though, what exactly do you find so incompatible between me and Luke? I'm _sorry_ , I wasn't aware that I needed your approval. Especially when you go off gallivanting with any girl that shows up at this school."

"What the heck does gallivanting mean, Miss Dictionary?" Percy asked disdainfully. "And do you mean _Rachel?_ Annabeth, Rachel is one of my best friends."

Annabeth scoffed. "Please, you haven't seen her in like, a year. So you're telling me that you didn't ask her out?"

"I never said that!"

Annabeth laughed, actually laughed out loud. Percy gave a quick, nervous glance towards Piper to make sure she hadn't heard the raised voices. "Oh, my god, you _hypocrite._ So I ask again: you can date whoever the heck you want, but I have to follow your approval? What next, a curfew? Just because we're friends again, Percy, doesn't give you the right to decide things for me, and if you think—"

"Shut up!" Percy hissed suddenly, pressing a finger to his mouth.

Annabeth looked outraged. "Percy Jackson, don't you _dare_ tell me to shut up, I—"

"No!" Percy turned to her, gesturing wildly as he pointed over the bushes. "I mean… _Piper!_ "

Annabeth instantly went quiet, a slightly guilty look crossing her face. She flashed Percy an apologetic look, and then peered over the bushes with him. Piper was still rubbing her arms, but she had turned to face someone just out of view, a peeved expression on her lips.

"You're late." Her voice reached them, clear and musical (if slightly annoyed), and she crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, I got held up." It was Jason's voice that came next, and Percy and Annabeth shared a surprised look. So _that's_ why Piper was waiting out in the cold field.

Piper's voice rang again, slightly louder than the last time. "You know, I ditched Annabeth for this again. I could have walked home with her. You're giving me the impression that I should have just done that." Annabeth made a small indignant sound, and Percy stifled a laugh.

"Aw, come on, Pipes," said Jason, dropping his bag down on the field. He sounded frustrated. "I came as soon as I could. Reyna was asking me about Student Council, and I just…"

Piper snorted humourlessly. "Oh, so you were talking to _Reyna_ again. I should have known."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing." Piper looked away. "Just that you always seem to be talking to Reyna about _something_. There something I should know, Jase?"

Jason made a little sound of protest. "Piper, you _know_ that she's campaigning for Student President. I'm like, her second in command. I have to help."

"Please," scoffed Piper. "That's not until _May_ , Jase. It's _October._ You can't tell me that all you're doing is campaigning!"

"Piper, you can't seriously believe that I would _cheat_ on you. _God,_ sometimes you are just the most… just… I can't see how you could actually believe that. You think I'm capable of that? That—that _hurts_ , Piper." His voice gave a tiny crack at the end, and he looked down at the ground.

Piper bit her lip, her expression softening slightly. "You—you're sure that you were just campaigning?" He nodded wordlessly, and Piper took a tentative step forwards. "I—I'm sorry, Jason. I don't mean… it's just… I can't believe it. That _you_ would want to be with someone like _me_. It just…" she gave a breathless little laugh. "It seems too good to be true."

Jason laughed softly. "Oh, please, McLean. You are by far my superior."

"As if." Percy could hear the smile in Piper's voice. He mimed gagging, and Annabeth slapped him on the arm. He winced, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Sorry for jumping to conclusions," Piper breathed, snaking her arms around Jason's neck. He wrapped his arms around her, bumping noses.

"Sorry for being late."

Piper laughed. "You are forgiven." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. Beside Percy, Annabeth gave a little squeak. He turned to see her looking very indignant.

"Why would Piper keep this from me? I'm her _best friend,_ " she hissed, glaring at Piper over the hedge. Percy dissolved into silent laugher as Jason draped his red jacket over Piper's shoulders, then put his arm around her. Silently, Percy and Annabeth watched as the couple strolled off across the field. Annabeth swatted Percy on the arm again, silencing his laughter with a look.

"Oh, come on," he chortled. "You have to admit that was sweet."

Annabeth smiled tightly. "Of course it was. Very sweet. But it was a _really_ dumb fight."

"Kind of remind you of anyone?" Percy asked softly.

She sighed, glancing away uncomfortably. "Look, Percy. I'm sorry. I shouldn't've… I shouldn't have gotten so riled up. You were just trying to protect me. I think it comes with being one of my oldest friends." She half-smiled. "You're kind of like my brother, so I get it. Not wanting me to go out with other guys."

Percy felt a surge of something – disappointment? – at that, but he covered it up by shaking his head. "No, I know it was out of line to try to tell you what to do. If we want to be friends, we have to stop fighting over tiny things."

"Alright." Annabeth held out a hand. "No more stupid fights?"

Percy took her hands, then at the last moment leaned in to hug her. "No more stupid fights."

He buried his head into her curls. They tickled his nose, smelling faintly of strawberries. She smiled into her hair, suddenly realizing how much he had really missed his friend over the years.

"You know you're still my best friend, right Perce?" she asked gently, her breath tickling his ear.

"I know," he replied with a smile. And as the autumn chill blew around them, making her curls dance and raising goosebumps on Percy's arms, he realized that finally things were back to how they should be.

* * *

Percy shifted his weigh from one foot to the other to keep warm, brushing a stray leaf off his shoulder. He had agreed to meet Rachel at the movie theater at 6:30, since she lived far enough away to need a ride, and Percy certainly couldn't afford a car. He had spent the last half hour walking to the movie theatre in the grey drizzle, collecting leaves along the way. Now he had several handfuls worth of red and orange leaves, big and perfect. He looked down at them, wondering what he should do with them.

He was just wondering if he should go inside and buy a chocolate bar when a big blue car pulled up on the curb and Rachel hopped out, swinging the door shut behind her with a bang. She blew a kiss into the tinted window, before catching sight of Percy and heading towards him with a grin. She was wearing a short, navy-blue dress that clinched in at the waist and then flared out back down to just above her knees. A soft black cardigan was draped daintily overtop of the dress, and black flats covered her feet. She was holding a shiny black clutch in her hands, and Percy wondered absently how girls could carry those around all day without losing them. Her curls were pulled back into a messy bun, with wispy little curls framing her face, and she stared up at Percy with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Hi."

Percy couldn't quite think of what to say. He had lots of friends who were girls, but he had never taken any of them out on dates. Were you supposed to say different things on a date then you did when you were just hanging out? Maybe he should say something about how great she looked—because she really did look amazing.

He opened his mouth to compliment her. "Aren't you cold?"

Rachel smirked, and Percy wanted to smack himself. That hadn't been what he meant to say. Like, at _all._

Percy's first real date was already going swimmingly.

"Not really," she replied, still chuckling quietly. "But we need to start asking the real questions here. Like… _why_ are you holding a whole bunch of leaves?"

"Oh, um…" Percy had almost forgotten about the leaves. He looked down at them, trying to find some excuse to justify them. "I—they match your hair?" He held them out to her hopefully.

She gave a skeptical little snort. "Well, I thought you may be less of a dork when I met you again, but apparently that is not the case." Percy scowled and opened his mouth to reply, but Rachel spoke over him. "Oh, don't get all huffy. It's cute."

That shut him up. When was the last time a girl called him _cute?_ Girls did not call him cute. Not usually. But Rachel—Rachel Elizabeth Dare was a special case. With the most chivalrous smile he could muster, Percy offered her his arm.

"Well, even if that skimpy thing keeps you warm, I'm cold. Should we go inside?"

Rachel took his arm, beaming, and dragged him into the movie theater, where they were greeted with a blast of blissfully warm air. They hurried over to the front desk, and stared up at the movie options thoughtfully.

"What should we see?" Rachel asked, still holding onto Percy's arm. "Can I pick?"

"Oh… yeah!" said Percy, sending her a smile. "Of course. I'm terrible at picking."

Rachel selected a movie that Percy had heard had good reviews, and they bought the tickets. There was still time to kill, so they ended up sitting in the food court in a little booth beside a big picture window that almost filled the entire back wall of the lobby area. Rain dripped down the cold glass. Percy ordered a burger that came on grease-drenched paper, and Rachel picked at his fries. He playfully swatted her hand whenever it came too close to his food, but then gave her some of the fries anyways. Before the movie started, they bought a large tub of popcorn and some drinks, and it was Rachel's turn to swat Percy's hand away as he reached for the popcorn tub while they walked towards the designated theater.

"Save it for the show," she insisted, trying not to laugh.

They chose a couple of seats near the back of the nearly-empty theater. Rachel placed the tub of popcorn on the floor between them, and Percy snuck a handful as the ads began. The movie theater was dark and stuffy, and the smell of candy and burnt popcorn drifted down the rows. They watched through an ad about some action movie that looked terrible, a romance film that Percy secretly wanted to go see, and some animated movie that made Percy want to smash his head into a wall. And not in a good way.

Finally, the movie started. A few more people had trailed into the theater, and there was a couple sitting a few rows in front of Rachel and Percy, holding hands. Percy wondered if he should try and hold Rachel's hand. It looked uncomfortable to try and do over the seat dividers, so he decided against it.

A few minutes into the movie, Percy found himself staring at the couple in front of him again. There was something that was unnerving him about them, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. For the first half hour of the movie, Percy thought it was just because they were kissing distractingly in the middle of the theatre, but just as the movie cut to a dramatic scene with blaring music, Percy finally placed them, and he sat up straight, clapping his palms down over the edge of the arms rests. Rachel looked over at him questioningly, her mouth full of popcorn.

He recognized those blonde curls. He would recognize them anywhere, even in the dim light of the movie theatre. It was Annabeth, and Percy recognized the pale hair of the boy beside her, glinting with the light from the giant screen.

Luke. Or perhaps still better known as _Douchebag_.

Percy shook his head. He really needed to stop doing that.

Sighing, he leaned his elbow down on the armrest and rested his face on his closed fist, wondering if Annabeth would turn if he stared hard enough. _It's fine_ , he reminded himself. _Annabeth can kiss whoever she wants._ Even so, there was still something that just bothered Percy about the whole situation, and he was just thinking about how he would love an opportunity to punch Luke when Rachel leaned over and hissed something in his ear.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?" she asked, and Percy sat up straight, looking over at her guiltily. Had she read his mind? He probably wasn't supposed to be thinking about punching people when he was on a date.

Rachel gave him a tiny smile. "This movie sucks," she said into his ear. "Want to leave?"

Percy smiled in relief and leaned back towards her. "Yes, _please._ "

Rachel grabbed his hand and picked up the tub of popcorn with her other hand. Then she led him out of the theater, the pressure from her small, warm hand bossy. Percy kind of liked it.

They emerged into the coolness of the lobby a minute later, and Percy felt relieved to be out in the open, where he could talk freely.

"Well, _that_ sucked." Rachel pulled another handful of dry popcorn out of the tub, stuffing it into her mouth. "I thought that movie was supposed to be good," she said, her voice muffled.

Percy laughed. "So did I… and that movie theater was really distracting."

"Tell me about it!" said Rachel, flinging a few pieces of popcorn as she talked. "Honestly, some people have no respect. If you want to be naughty…" she came closer to Percy and her warm breath hit his ear, making him shiver, "….at least sit in the back."

Percy chuckled again. "So… we still have an hour before my mom said she could pick us up. What do you want to do now?"

Rachel smiled mischievously. "Well, I think it's a little hot in here…"

"Do you want to go back outside?" Percy asked, catching on quickly.

Rachel playfully twirled a frizzy red curl around her finger. "You read my mind, Jackson."

In the hour-or-so that they had spent in the movie theater, the sun had disappeared behind the horizon, leaving them in the chilly darkness of a clear fall evening. A crescent moon, glowing big and bright in its proximity to the horizon, hovered over one of the buildings across the street. A few stars pierced through the light pollution of the city, and Rachel pointed up at one of them that was particularly bright. "Make a wish."

Percy closed his eyes, but couldn't really think of anything that he desperately wanted.

"What did you wish for?" asked Rachel's soft voice from beside him, breaking into his thoughts.

Percy shrugged wordlessly. Rachel smiled up at him. "I know what I wished for."

And then she was kissing him again, her lips soft and the air cool and the pressure of her hands against him warm and comforting. It felt like memories, like summer air and gentle breezes and the rushing of the river. It felt almost— _almost_ perfect.

He couldn't quite place the nagging feeling in his stomach, but he ignored it.

Percy was the first to pull away. Rachel Elizabeth Dare grinned up at him, the streetlamp above them glinting in her eyes. Percy smiled softly. She really was very pretty.

"What say you we go for a walk?" she asked, gently taking his hand again.

"Sounds lovely," said Percy. It probably came out more like " _Dugh,_ " but Rachel seemed to understand, pulling him along with her as she smirked.

And so walk they did, beneath the sprinkled constellations and the rising moon, beneath the city streetlamps and the shop signs, with autumn leaves crunching beneath their feet and a world of possibility ahead.

* * *

 **A/N: HELLO MY FRIENDS and I have returned at last with another chapter. I KNOW I KNOW I had to write both Lukabeth and Perachel in the same chapter and it was absolutely revolting but stick with me for like three more chapters and I'll get rid of both of them, I promise. I've got to admit though, I did enjoy having Rachel back, she's such a fun character. This chapter was actually quite fun to write, I've got to say.**

 **ALRIGHT so today is a rather big day in the history of Childhood, it's actually the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the day I first published this here on FF! (Not the day I started it that was sometime in August but you get the picture.) Naturally, I had to publish this today. SO, I wanted to say thank you for a _fabulous_ year of this story, because I have seriously gotten so many lovely reviews (300 WHAT?!) and I've met a ton of the nicest people ever so I just wanted to give a huge thank you to anyone who has invested time and thought into this story and also especially Rachel for beta-ing again because she's excellent at that!**

 **Tell me your thoughts on this chapter, I'd love to hear 'em! Lots n lots of love!**

 **-GGW**


	24. Secrets Untold

"This one?" Piper held up a flowy, coral t-shirt that was ripped in several places.

Thalia glanced up from her cellphone for a fraction of a second before looking down again. "Mmm… no."

Piper looked appalled, her eyes widening dramatically. "What? Why? It's cute, Thalia!"

"Mm," hummed Thalia without looking up. "You haven't even bought it yet, and it's already destroyed."

"It's _supposed_ to look like that," scoffed Piper, shaking the fabric for effect. "It's _artistic,_ dimwit."

"Right, of course. Your boob will artfully hang out of your shirt as that gorgeous colour brings out all your pimples. Love it." Thalia sent a dry thumbs-up in Piper's direction. Piper scowled, shoving the t-shirt back on to the shelf before waltzing down another aisle.

"One thing I love about Thalia," said Hazel just loudly enough for Thalia to overhear, "is that you never have to doubt that she's giving you her honest opinion."

"True." Annabeth bobbed her head with a laugh. Thalia rolled her eyes, flipping them off before disappearing after Piper.

It was late afternoon of a foggy November Saturday, and the mall was filled with a colourful array of people. Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, and Thalia were among them, browsing through vibrant rows of shirts and peeking in the windows of shops that were far too expensive for their empty pockets.

Their former plan had been to go to the beach and have a picnic in the sunshine, but the cold drizzle that they'd woken up to on Saturday morning had put a bit of a damper on their hopes. Of course, Piper had the brilliant idea to get a ride to the mall, where they had spent several cheerful hours doing nothing of great consequence.

Annabeth followed her best friends down the long aisle of the department store, listening quietly to Thalia and Piper's playful banter. Hazel followed close behind, pulling things off the shelf and looking at them wistfully before folding them carefully and putting them back. On the overhead speakers, an outdated pop song was playing quietly.

"Miss? I'm sorry, but you're not supposed to eat in here," an obnoxious saleswoman began as she followed them down the aisle, gesturing to the small box of French fries in Thalia's hand.

"Um," said Thalia in a muffled voice, a fry dangling from her mouth. "I'm not eating anything."

The woman looked unimpressed, her thinly penciled brow rising almost to her receding hairline. "Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We do not allow food in this store."

Thalia rolled her eyes and muttered something unintelligible, setting off towards the exit.

"Seriously, Thals?" asked Piper, slapping her on the arm grumpily. "That's the _fourth_ store today you've gotten us kicked out of! Can't you find somewhere else to eat your fries?"

"'Scuse _you_." Thalia pulled the container away from Annabeth, who was attempting to steal a fry, and glared over at Piper. "And as for you, dumbass, I didn't have lunch. Also, I'm human, and I happen to be hungry."

"You're human _?_ Coulda fooled me," Annabeth added cheekily, inconspicuously reaching for another fry.

Piper scoffed, hand on her hip. "We all had lunch at the food court like, three hours ago. I literally _watched_ you inhale a burger."

"That was a long time ago," argued Thalia calmly as she chomped another fry. "I'm hungry _now_."

"Where did the fries even come from?" Annabeth asked, finally succeeding in stealing one.

Thalia shrugged unconcernedly. "Found them on the ground a few stores back."

Annabeth dropped the fry, her eyes widening in horror, and Thalia snorted. "Not really, idiot. I bought them when we were at the food court and stashed them in my bag. But you should have seen the look on your face."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and grabbed another of Thalia's fries before she could turn away, and was rewarded with a judgmental glare.

Beside them, Hazel sighed, leaning against the wall. "This is nice," she said wistfully. "I wish we could do this more often."

"Yeah, well, it's difficult to do _anything_ with Annabeth anymore. I mean, she hardly has time for us with that new boyfriend of hers," Piper grinned playfully, crossing her arms.

Annabeth shoved Piper laughingly, making her stumble. "Excuse _you_ , Miss _I-Make-Out-With-My-Boyfriend-Anywhere-and-Everywhere._ At least I _told_ you I was dating someone."

Piper scoffed, waving her hand flippantly. "I told you, I wanted to be sure it was real before I told you guys. _You_ were the one who spied on me to figure out what was going on."

"Yes, and I'm proud of it," Annabeth retaliated, crossing her arms and grinning innocently at Piper.

"Hang on," said Thalia, pushing her way in between Piper and Annabeth. "What boyfriend?"

"Thals, you know Piper's dating Jason—" Annabeth started.

"No," interrupted Thalia hurriedly, something Annabeth didn't recognize flickering across her face. "Your boyfriend, Annabeth. Who are you dating?"

It was Piper who replied, with another casual wave of her hand. "Oh, you know Luke Castellan. About yea high, white blonde hair, icy eyes, obsessed with our Annabeth?"

Thalia froze, her face blank, but the expression in her eyes swirling from shock to pain to anger. For a moment, she was completely silent. Then— "No."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry?"

"I—" said Thalia, looking at a loss for words for the first time since Annabeth had met her. "Just – no."

Annabeth stared at her, crossing her arms tightly to her chest.

Thalia sighed. "Annabeth, it's just… he's not right for you."

Annabeth's expression spoke for itself as Thalia scratched the back of her neck, looking as if she was searching for the right words. She refused to meet Annabeth's eyes. "I mean, you can't… _dammit,_ Annabeth _,_ you can't _do_ this to me!"

For a shocked moment, the three of them simply stared at Thalia, whose expression was still utterly unreadable. Finally, Annabeth found her voice, surprising even herself when it came out steady and quiet and _angry_. "Really, Thalia? Percy being like that, I guess I mostly get, but _you?_ What… what is so _wrong_ with my choices?" She barely noticed that her voice was rising. "And why does it have anything to do with you? You're one of my best friends, but – I thought you already knew Luke and I were more than friends!"

Thalia shook her head. "I… I didn't know. And don't start –"

"Oh, hey!" said Hazel loudly, her attempt to break the tension in the air obvious. She pointed over the banister to the floor below them. "It's the guys!"

Jason, Leo, Frank and Percy were down on the floor below, chatting eagerly. Percy had his arm around a girl with pretty red hair that Annabeth recognized as Rachel Dare. The redhead's shoulders were shaking with laughter along to some unheard joke.

Piper gasped loudly. "Jason!" she squealed loudly, causing several people in the vicinity to whip around and glare at her. Ignoring them, she ran down the nearest escalator to join the crew. Jason welcomed his girlfriend with a kiss on the nose, and Annabeth almost melted as she watched. Dammit, they were too _cute_. It was completely unfair.

Hazel followed more slowly, skipping down the steps in her elf-like tread. She went to stand shyly beside Frank, who smiled, blushing, and put a tentative arm around her shoulder.

Annabeth smiled softly, resting her arms on the railing as she watched her friends on the floor below. They looked really happy, a picture perfect image of perfect couples – oh, and Leo. Annabeth gave a wistful little sigh, watching as Percy pointed at something on Rachel's shirt, lifting up her chin and kissing her when she started to look down. They broke apart, giggling, and Rachel bopped Percy on the nose with her finger.

Annabeth's heart gave a funny little pang, but she forced it down. This was Percy, her oldest friend, and his girlfriend, who seemed like a really sweet, amazing person that anyone would be lucky to be with. She should be happy for them. She _was_ happy for them.

All of a sudden she felt vaguely like she might throw up.

A quiet voice broke into her thoughts, and Annabeth turned, welcoming any distraction.

"So… why are you dating Luke?"

Thalia had joined her. She leaned against the railing, following Annabeth's gaze to the people below. Annabeth shrugged her shoulders in slight confusion. "I—I mean, I _like_ him. He's… sweet. He makes me… happy."

Thalia shook her head slightly, biting her bottom lip. "But…"

Annabeth followed her gaze down to where Percy and Rachel still had their arms around each other. Her heart did the funny twitch thing again, but she pushed it aside. "But _nothing_ , Thalia. I liked Percy Jackson once, a long time ago. But now we're friends; just – just good friends. We're… I don't know, protective of each other, I guess."

A tiny voice in her head wondered if she was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Thalia, but she had gotten better at silencing it.

Thalia sighed shakily. "I—I'm sorry."

Annabeth blinked.

Thalia Grace was many things. She was loud, obnoxious and opinionated. She was tough and not easily offended – although underneath all that, Annabeth knew she was more sensitive than she let on.

But never— _never—_ was Thalia Grace apologetic. Not when she had accidentally slapped Annabeth in the face with a five-pound dictionary, not when she'd somehow managed to cut off an inch of one of Hazel's cinnamon curls, not even when she'd tackled Piper so hard that Piper's wrist had been badly sprained.

Yet now the words had slipped past Thalia's lips and Annabeth couldn't stop staring because Thalia Grace had actually _apologized_ for something.

"You're— _what_?" Annabeth asked softly, incredulously.

Thalia took a deep breath and turned to face her. All at once, Annabeth realized which Thalia she was speaking to. It was not the Thalia of rude comments and sarcastic smirks, but the small, vulnerable, broken Thalia that Annabeth had only truly spoken to once: that day on the beach the summer before, when they'd sat alone on a boulder with the breeze in their hair.

She fell silent, wondering if her friend would just – _talk_ to her for once.

Thalia's electric blue eyes lacked their usual sparkle. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I'm sorry. You should be able to choose who you like and who you date and just—" she shook her head. "I know I shouldn't judge. The past…"

She trailed off, turning her head slightly so she was gazing off into the distance, and suddenly Annabeth realized what she was about to do.

"Thalia," she began cautiously, "you know you don't have to…"

Thalia glanced over, just the tiniest smile on her face. "I know. But I do, Annabeth. I _do_. I knew that the right time was soon and…" She twirled a piece of her uneven hair, streaked with stripes of bright blue, around her finger. "I just hope that they're happy. Hope she treats him well."

Annabeth followed her gaze, realizing that Thalia had not been gazing off into the distance like she'd thought, but instead at Jason and Piper. She furrowed her brow. "Don't you, um, have that a little backwards, Thals?"

Thalia tilted her head to the side, the smallest smile playing at her lips. "No… I'm just really protective of my little brother."

For a single second, Annabeth was stunned into silence. Then she repeated in a quiet voice, "Your brother?"

Thalia met her eyes again. "Jason. Jason Grace is my baby brother."

There was a dumbfounded quiet. After a moment, Annabeth realized her mouth was open and closed it, blinking. "You… you mean to tell me that _Jason_ is your…"

Thalia nodded, lips pursed as she twisted her hands. "Baby brother. Has been all his life. Same mom, same dad. I—I watched him take his first steps."

"But…?" Annabeth couldn't even begin to find words.

"But _life_ , Annabeth. Life, and circumstance and—" She slumped. "We haven't had a normal conversation in _three years_ , Annabeth. When we were little, Jason was my… well, _everything_. I was basically his mom. Our mom—our actual mom—she drank a lot after my dad left her… she kind of, I don't know, fell apart. So I took care of Jason. I learned to cook for him and how to darn socks and how to kiss and coddle and all sorts of sickening things that should _never ever_ be put on a six-year-old. But it was my life, you know? Taking care of Jason. No matter what. Always Jason."

Annabeth was silent as Thalia spoke. She knew that secrets were difficult things, that hurt and burned and sometimes tore you apart. But more than anything, she knew that letting them out was close to impossible—it was so much easier to coop them inside until they ate away at you completely.

But she knew Thalia almost as well as she knew herself, and her heart told her that saying she was sorry for whatever had happened, or telling her that it had been terrible – it wouldn't help. Thalia knew all that already; she didn't need to hear it from one of her closest friends. Instead, she stayed silent, just listening.

But she took Thalia's rough, slender hand in hers and squeezed it, just so her friend would know she was there.

Thalia gave a shuddering sigh and looked down at Annabeth's hand gratefully. Observing the group below them, she continued in a steady, quiet tone that made Annabeth think that she had planned this speech out many times. The quiver in her voice was just barely present… but it caused Annabeth to realize that this was her first time saying it aloud.

"Luke Castellan was my best friend. We met when we were just little, maybe six or seven. We met at the park every day after school, and for one blissful hour each day, I would be free to have fun and play. Then, of course, I would get home and my mom would scream at me for being late and accuse me of abandoning Jason. _She_ had to take care of him, she'd tell me. She had to wash away his tears, or… or whatever. _She_ , his mother. I don't think she realized how ironic it sounded." Thalia chuckled dryly. "Anyways, as time went on, my mom drank more, and Luke and I became more inseparable, but it was still – my little brother, my responsibility, you know? But soon Jason, small as he was, starting learning how to do things by himself. And so for a little while, I didn't have to worry about him as much. All growing up, Jason had been my _world,_ and– I would have died for him, Annabeth. I – I probably still would, and it scares me."

There was an almost nostalgic ache in Annabeth's chest. She squeezed Thalia's hand just a little bit tighter.

Thalia continued. "But those few months where I could just spend time with Luke and not have to worry quite so much about Jason – it was _amazing_. One day, though, as I was doing my homework—my mom was upstairs doing who knows what—Jason came over to me and tugged on the end of my sleeve and said "Thalia, there's no food."

Annabeth looked down at Jason, whose bright eyes had drifted up to them. He held her gaze for a few seconds, his mouth hardening into a line as his gaze passed over Thalia's pale face before he looked away and wrapped his arm tighter around Piper. The white knuckles of his closed fist told Annabeth that he knew exactly what they were talking about.

" _Thalia, there's no food_." She shook her head. "Sometimes, when I'm trying to fall asleep those words pop into my head. Like, the words that started it all… or the beginning of the end, or whatever bullshit you want to call it. Either way, it _sucked_. I spent all day at school thinking about it. I kept telling myself that it was okay, that when I got home my mom would have gotten groceries, and we would have something hot and delicious to eat.

"I didn't have a lunch at school that day, but when Luke offered me part of his sandwich, I told him we were going to have a big dinner so I couldn't have lunch. It was my way of – of coping, I guess. Pretending the problem didn't exist at all.

"Luke and I got into an argument that afternoon, I think, so I walked home a different way than usual in protest. And I was walking past this little corner store and there were chocolate bars on display in the window, and I just… I couldn't _help_ myself, Annabeth. I went into the store, just to look at the candy – or so I told myself. I was walking through the aisles and I went down this one filled with junk food and candy bars and stuff, and I found this big long package of like, four mega chocolate bars. I remember staring at it for the longest time, thinking _there's no one else in the whole world who needs these chocolates more than me._ And so… I took it. I just—I stuffed it under my sweater and tried to look casual and left the store. Even then, I knew that I had just done something bad, so I ran all the way home. But the look on Jason's face… well, it was worth everything. We had a feast that night."

Thalia's voice had changed, descending from steady, fake confidence to something low and soft that echoed with sadness. Annabeth couldn't stop staring down at Jason, imagining him small with round cheeks and those bright eyes, gorging on chocolate with a tiny Thalia who wasn't yet quite so cold, so bitter, so _broken_. The image hurt her heart, like someone was slowly squeezing it from the inside. What had happened to keep these siblings apart?

"Of course, it only took me about a week to realize that we couldn't live on stolen chocolate alone," Thalia continued, staring up at the ceiling, through the shining glass that topped the mall and into the gray sky. Annabeth looked up with her, watching the tiny rain droplets slip down the cold glass. Thalia swallowed. "Once I'd realized that, I knew I had to do something more dramatic. I… I tried to get a job. I really did. But no one wanted a seven-year-old as an employee. Most of them scoffed at me, or asked where my parents were. Some of them just laughed at me until I left. In the end, I just went back to stealing.

"I mean, it started innocent enough. A bundle of celery. A box of crackers. I never realized how much _stuff_ you needed to take care of a kid. But I had the perfect disguise for stealing… and a sweet, innocent baby face. Whenever I went to get food or something, I would wear my prettiest dress." Thalia shuddered. "No one ever suspected the pretty little girl in the dress of stealing.

"Eventually though, I started to get bolder. I mean, it wasn't like I'd never been caught. But I'm quite the actress, Annabeth. I'm sure you've noticed." A slight smirk was playing at her lips, but Annabeth didn't feel much like laughing. Thalia _was_ quite the actress, which was how she hid everything under a blanket of contempt. "I played the innocent little girl quite a lot. If they caught me, I would burst into tears and tell them that I didn't know any better, and I just wanted it for my little brother because it was his _favourite._ So I always got off with a warning. I hopped from store to store; I became quite the little criminal, really. I was eight years old, and I thought I was a criminal mastermind.

"And as I got more confident, I stole bigger things. Things Jason wanted, things Luke wanted, things _I_ wanted. _There is no one in the world that need this more than me_. That was my motto. No one knew what I was doing, of course. Jason didn't know where the little toys came from, Luke didn't know his new action figures _weren't_ from my allowance. I just wanted to be… to be _normal_."

She sighed, running a hand down over her eyes. "But you of all people, Annabeth. You know that secrets have a way of coming back to bite you. I know you do. I don't know what happened to you… but I—I know that there was something. I've seen the way you tread around secrets.

"It just—it took me… well, awhile to figure out how nasty secrets could be. One day, I just couldn't bear it anymore. I needed someone else to know what I was going through, someone else to be in on the secret. So. So I told Luke. I told him everything, some sort of jumbled confession of words and tears. And he was all quiet, and all of a sudden it dawned on me that this could come back to bite me, and I remember the last words of the conversation. I said, 'Lukie, you know you can't tell a single soul, right? I'll get in trouble if you do. Jason needs me. You can't tell _anyone_.' And obviously, he nodded vigorously and agreed never to tell and that," she sighed again, "was that.

"For a few weeks it all went back to normal—or as normal as my life had become, I guess. Luke seemed a little distant, I noticed, but I gave him the space. He had just realized I was a criminal master mind, after all." Thalia chuckled sourly. "One day though, in the middle of the morning recess, I got called into the office. My mom was there, with the principal and… and a police officer. I had been accused of 'multiple feats of theft and manipulation'. I think I had a heart attack. It was like… how had they found out? My mom wouldn't look at me, and the police officer kept calling me 'little missy', all condescending and I just… I wanted to curl up and sob but I knew – I _knew_ my mother would yell at me if I did any such thing, so I just sat there all cold and emotionless and…" Thalia swallowed twice, looked up at the ceiling again and blinked hard. Annabeth could see the little girl in her face, standing straight and strong even as her lower lip trembled slightly and her eyes misted with tears. Annabeth noticed her hands, clenched tight over the railing, and she grabbed one of Thalia's ice cold hands in her own again, squeezing it in a string of silent reassurances.

 _I'm here. It's over. It's okay. You're okay. I love you._

Thalia's hand relaxed beneath her, and after a moment she continued, her voice quiet and devoid of emotion, disconnected from the story. "I walked past Luke as they led me out of the school. My wrists were so small that I could have slipped them out of the handcuffs but I didn't—I didn't even dare try. As we walked past I said, 'Luke! Luke, they found out, they're going to take me away.'" Her voice sounded small. "And he just looked and his feet and muttered, 'I know.' And all of a sudden it hit me. They hadn't found out. Someone had _told_ them. There was only one person who knew, my best friend in the world, and – and he wouldn't even look me in the eyes."

Thalia was silent, then asked tentatively, "Have you—have you ever had your heart broken, Annabeth? Like, _really_ broken?"

Annabeth looked back down at the group of people below them, who were now having a loud argument about something or other. Her eyes drifted to Percy, who was flinging his arms around with endearing intensity, his cheeks flushed and his eyes focused. For just a second, his eyes flitted up to hers and she looked away, down at the ground below. "Yes," she said finally. "I have."

"You know how it feels, then. Soul crushing, painful as hell. I felt it all the way to the police car and all the way to the station, and while my mom was yelling that they could do whatever the hell they wanted with me because she didn't want a _delinquent_ for a daughter. I felt it for the entire two-hour drive to this little farm house that was like a kind of reforming camp for 'troubled kids', because that's what I'd become.

"I spent a long, long time in the house. I don't even know how long it was… I had stopped counting months. They tried to be nice to me, but they… I just didn't want it. I didn't want _any_ of it. But I couldn't escape. I tried, of course I tried. But I couldn't.

"Eventually, my time was done. I had missed more school than I could ever make up. I was terrified when my mom finally came to get me because… even though I wanted to get out of that place more than _anything,_ it was kind of a safe place, and my mom was… well, anything but safe. The ride home was horrible, but I just kept thinking, _I'm going to see Jason, I'm going to see Jason…_ but I didn't. He—he wasn't _there_ when I got home. He'd gone to live with our dad after... after the incident. I was to stay with my mom. But my mom had a new boyfriend, and I hated him. And he hated me." Thalia fidgeted with one of the silver bangles around her wrist, and Annabeth suddenly wondered if those had ever really been a fashion statement, or if they were hiding some dark part of Thalia's past that she didn't want anyone to see.

"One night, I called my dad after my mom went to bed. Begged him to let me come live with him and Jason. He hung up the phone without even answering." She twisted the bangle around her wrist. "My mom went through boyfriends like… like you go through those _Harry Potter_ books. There was a new one what seemed like every week. They all hated me. I was just a punching bag for pent-up anger. I had started school again, but I began missing it because… I was depressed and suicidal and – and I _hurt_ myself, Annabeth. I was in therapy, but everything was crashing down, and sometimes I just wanted to…"

Annabeth wouldn't— _couldn't_ let Thalia finish that sentence. She wrapped her arms around Thalia's slim shoulders and hugged her as hard as she thought Thalia would let her. She could feel Thalia shaking in her arms and the shoulder of her sweater was wet, but it didn't matter. Annabeth knew how it felt to be broken, knew how it felt to need a shoulder to cry on, so she just held Thalia as tightly as she could while her friend shook with silent sobs in her arms.

After a few quiet moments, Annabeth finished the story for her, softly, steadily. "But you _got_ _through_ _it_ , Thalia Grace. You went back to school, and you've done amazing, and you made new friends who love you. More than anything." She pulled back to look into Thalia's watery, red-rimmed eyes. Her mascara was in dark tear tracks down her face. "Isn't that what happened?"

Thalia nodded, biting her lip to keep tears at bay.

"Do you wanted me to keep talking?" Annabeth asked quietly, not sure of what to say.

Thalia nodded again.

Finally, Annabeth began telling her own story, spilling it out as she had only done for Piper. Reliving it again. But sharing it with someone who understood seemed to _help,_ somehow, like another little piece of the weight had been shifted off her shoulders.

She let her gaze flicker down to Percy as she talked, watching him smile and listening to his laugh drift up from below. Once, he met her eyes, holding her gaze. She watched as his face fell slightly. It was like he knew what she was talking about. Then, to her surprise, he gave her a soft smile before turning away and draping an arm over Rachel's shoulder.

He was _happy_. Annabeth could see it in his posture, his smile. It made her feel hopeful. If this boy, whose childhood had been so utterly torn to shreds, could smile and laugh that easily, then so could she.

Her gaze moved to Thalia. If the girl beside her could still stand tall, chin up, and make sarcastic jokes, so could she.

So could everyone.

They were broken – but they were _healing_. And that's what mattered.

Maybe there was no wound that healed completely. But at least the injuries closed slightly, with the help of amazing friends – no, _family_. Friends were the family you chose, and Annabeth would be damned if she didn't take care of her family.

Scars didn't deform a person. Scars made you special – showed what you had been through and had fought to come out on the other side. They showed that you had _lived_.

Beside her, Thalia chuckled softly, breaking the comfortable silence. "Oh, circumstance. How did this happen? We have to be two of the most messed up girls in the city, and here we are together in the same mall, bonding like saps over our shitty pasts. Who'd've thought?"

"There's one thing I don't understand, Thalia," Annabeth began slowly, trying her best to tread lightly on the ice that could crack at any moment. "Why—why haven't you talked to Jason in so long? He's your _brother_. He _loves_ you, Thals. Why won't you talk to him?"

Thalia sighed, cupping her chin in her hands. "I—I don't want to embarrass him. He has a delinquent, a _failure_ , for a sister. His friends don't need to know that. I don't—I can't ruin his life, Annabeth. Not again."

Annabeth wrapped her arms around Thalia's thin shoulders from behind as they continued to watch the group below. "You're not a failure, Thalia. The only way you could ruin his life is by not being in it, trust me," she said quietly, resting her chin on Thalia's shoulder. "He's not going to push you away. Just… please, do it for me. Talk to him again."

Thalia met her eyes for a long moment, and found herself Annabeth concentrating on the flecks of darker blue in Thalia's cerulean irises, her wet, dark lashes fringing the sapphire. Thalia's eyes were like shattered crystals – fragile, but so much more beautiful for having been broken.

Finally, Thalia looked away and spoke. "Okay. For you. Just for you, Annabeth Chase." She paused. "I'm – I'm sorry, though. About Luke. Maybe I shouldn't have…"

"No," Annabeth reassured her. "I needed to know. I mean, I just… maybe he's changed, Thalia. That was years ago. He doesn't seem the kind of guy who would… well, not anymore."

Thalia nodded, though she didn't look particularly convinced. "Maybe."

Annabeth paused, not wanting to continue, but knowing she should. "I… I'll break up with him. If you don't think I should date him."

Thalia whipped her gaze back. "No! No, don't do that. Not for me."

"You're one of my best friends," Annabeth countered. "I would do just about anything for you."

Thalia smiled a bit at that, but she continued to stubbornly shake her head. "You're – you're probably right. Maybe he's changed."

Annabeth nodded, trying to ignore the twisting in her stomach. But she _knew_ Luke—he was genuinely nice. He regretted what he had done to Thalia, she was sure of it. He probably just didn't have the courage to apologize.

She could sympathize with that.

For what seemed like forever, the two of them simply stood quietly on the second floor of the crowded mall, leaning over the railing and watching people's lives go by below them as rain drummed on the windows. They had crossed some hidden barrier, Annabeth realized, from awkward silence to something vaguely comfortable.

It had been an exhausting day, in more ways than one. Annabeth was just thinking about how soothing it would be to curl into bed with her new book and some hot chocolate when Thalia spoke again.

"Do you—could you not tell Piper and Hazel about this? I mean, not yet? It's not— it's not like I don't trust them or anything, it's just… they wouldn't understand yet, you know? And – and I don't want to be the one that tells them."

Annabeth knew exactly what Thalia meant. Piper and Hazel had surely gone through their share of troubles, but they didn't know just yet how cruel the world really was. They didn't really know true heartbreak, not yet. Not the way that Thalia and Annabeth did.

And with any luck, they never would. Her friends would stay in the warm sun of life, never drifting too far into the shadows.

One last time, Annabeth squeezed Thalia's hand and smiled. "Of course, Thalia. Of course."

* * *

 **A/N: Ahhhh so here I am at last with another chapter that is very late and like 90% dialogue. (I thought I was going to have to say short, too but that did not end up happening.) I know, I know. I am utterly terrible at keeping a consistent updating schedule. Though actually the next couple chapters I'm going to try and get up a little faster because they are going to be quite the rollercoaster. (Like, literally. Wait what?) My thanks to the lovely WritingManiac, for her excellent editing skills, because they are amazing. (Seriously, you make all my chapters _so_ much better. Like, how?)**

 **To the Guest who asked about the ages of the characters: Ahh I knew this would come up at some point. Okay so, currently in the story, our main characters are in their sophomore year of high school, aka grade 10. (Which I think is the equivalent to British year 11, someone correct me if I'm wrong.) Anyways, that would make them around 15ish at the moment, though in the next chapter there's probably going to be another time jump. Hope that helps! ;)**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you liked it, leave me a review and tell me your thoughts because I love hearing them!**

 **-GGW**


	25. Just a Normal Day at the Fair

Annabeth grinned, tossing another piece of kettle corn into her mouth. The sun was shining down on her face and the sky was an endless blue that stretched out to the horizon and into oblivion. It was like a storybook; cotton candy clouds drifting across a sky of blue raspberry.

The height of summer had finally arrived, and Piper's meticulous planning skills had dragged Annabeth away from the comfort of her couch and out into the world. The moment the first poster for the carnival showed up on the lamppost across the street from Piper's house, the plans had started brewing, and finally, on a sunny Thursday morning, she'd recruited the entirety of what Piper liked to the call 'the gang'. It made Annabeth feel like they'd been plucked out of the pages of an _Archie_ Comic, but Piper's utter enthusiasm made her smile. Piper's gang was made up eight people: herself, Annabeth, Jason, Percy, Leo, Thalia, Hazel and Frank. So finally, on a day that not even Thalia could complain about, they all piled into Piper's shiny new car—a birthday present—and sped off to the carnival. Leo sat in the trunk.

"Annabeth!" called Piper, her teeth blue with cotton candy. "Come _on_ , we've barely been on any rides yet. I really wanted to try out the Super Spiral one, like, my cousin went on that ride at a carnival one time and she said that it was literally the best ride in the world, like apparently you can't move your head at all because if you do—"

"Pipes!" Annabeth held up a hand and crossed her legs on the bench. "Babbling."

Piper beamed. "Sorry."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "We've been going on rides nonstop since we got here, Pipes. We are taking a rest now. Look, Leo still can't even walk after that spinning teacup ride you made us go on."

Leo, who had been walking by, turned around at the sound of his name, winked at Annabeth, and then tripped over his own foot, falling over backwards and crashing into a garbage can. "I'm good!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes again.

Piper huffed. "Okay, fine. No more rides for Leo. How about Thalia? She likes rides."

Thalia leaned forward, ice cream dripping down her cone and onto her hand. "I'm sitting right here, Piper. I can hear everything you're saying. And if you make me go on one more of those ridiculous rides I will without a doubt throw up all over you."

"Face it, Piper." Annabeth shoved another handful of kettle corn into her mouth, trying to stifle her grin. "No one wants to go on any rides with you right now. Just like, go bother Jason or something, he'll listen to anything you say."

"Some friends you are," muttered Piper, stalking off.

Annabeth and Thalia watched her go in silence. She ran up behind Percy and Jason and put her hands on Jason's shoulders, bouncing up and down. Thalia huffed, and Annabeth could almost _hear_ her rolling her eyes.

A moment later Percy dawdled over to him, his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans and the strings of his stained blue swim hoodie swinging like pendulums.

"Percy." Annabeth greeted him with a serious nod, tossing another piece of popcorn into her mouth.

"Annabeth," he responded with mock seriousness, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"What brings you over here, Jackson?" Thalia asked, licking her ice cream.

"Oh, well." Percy pointed over his shoulder. "Piper came over and stole Jason, and I didn't want to third wheel, so I came over to join you nerds."

"Nerds?" scoffed Annabeth. "Well, excuse me, you're the one who sings along to Disney tracks in the car."

"You're the one who stays up until two in the morning to finish a book that could easily be finished the next day," said Percy, mimicking her tone.

"Now, now, children," Thalia broke in, popping the end of her ice cream cone into her mouth and licking her fingertips. "Don't bicker. How about we go and do something fun, like get cotton candy? I could go for some cotton candy."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "You _literally_ just finished an ice cream cone. A _big_ ice cream cone, Thals."

"Which is why I need something new to eat, Annabeth. You never learn, do you? Come on, Percy, I'll buy you a cotton candy. Not sure about this nerd over here though. She doesn't appreciate food enough."

Annabeth gave a squawk of protest and followed the other two, lagging a step behind and crossing her arms. The three of them ambled casually across the usually empty lot that had been filled with cheap rides and food trucks. The smell of deep fried food and sweets drifted on the summer breeze, and the joyful squeals of small children soared above. Annabeth stayed a step behind Thalia and Percy, smiling at their playful banter. They got along better than Annabeth would have thought, laughing and teasing each other as they walked. Maybe they were more similar than she'd thought.

Thalia bought three cotton candies at the booth that spun the silky strings of sugar, a plain white one for Annabeth (she caved and bought one for 'the nerd' anyways), a neon yellow one for herself, and a ridiculously blue one for Percy. Annabeth rolled her eyes affectionately.

It happened so fast that Annabeth almost missed it. She was staring up at a particularly fluffy cloud and enjoying the feeling of the airy sugar melting on her tongue when Percy bumped shoulders with an older man, causing him to stumble and knocking a large tub of popcorn out of the man's hands. Halfway through Percy's hastily muttered apology, the tall, bulky man's hands hit Percy's chest and he stumbled backwards, falling to the ground.

Annabeth froze.

The man looked familiar. _Too_ familiar. He had the same cruel glint in his eyes and the same angry sneer, the same thinning sandy hair – it was Smelly Gabe all over again, alive, in the flesh. This man was taller and not quite so heavy-set as Gabe, but he looked so similar that Annabeth felt her hand crushing the paper cone holding up her cotton candy.

She stumbled backwards, images of the last day she ever saw Gabe flashing through her mind.

But this _wasn't_ Gabe, Annabeth realized. That man was long gone, and he'd left with a bang and a flash of light and thick, warm pool of blood that still hadn't left Annabeth's nightmares. This wasn't the man that had broken her best friend to pieces or ripped apart their friendship. This was just some other monster—some jerk at the fair. Annabeth's hand relaxed slightly.

"…are you retarded, boy?" the man was yelling, and Annabeth's eyes widened. "You think you can get away with this? You think it's funny to wreck my popcorn? You plannin' to pay for that, kid? Because if you ain't, well then I think you deserve a—"

It had taken Annabeth several seconds to process that the man yelling couldn't possibly be the monster of their childhood, but it seemed to be taking Percy just a little bit longer. He was still kneeling on the ground where he had fallen, and one look of his round eyes told Annabeth that he was lost in some world or terror. She was about to step forwards, words of anger on her lips, when Thalia stepped in front of her.

"Hey!' she said loudly, and the man stopped in utter surprise at the look on her face. Thalia wasn't particularly tall or particularly strong-looking, but her slender shoulders were shaking, her hands were clenched into tight fists and her eyes screamed bloody murder. "Listen here, asshole. That was clearly an accident, and you are clearly an idiot. You seriously think that its right to call someone a freaking _retard_ for knocking your _popcorn_ out of your hands? Get. A. Grip."

Annabeth wasn't sure whether to laugh at the expression on the man's face or drag Thalia away before she got herself into trouble. But Thalia didn't seem to be done.

"Do me a favor, and look around," she continued in a low voice, her pale cheeks flushed. "Do you see where you are? This is an amusement park for _kids_. They put this place up so that kids could come here and have a good time, not so old bullies like you could come out of your mom's basements to buy some cheap snacks. You, sir, are a despicable person, and if I were you I would leave before I call security."

The man, with his unshaven face and scowl, looked at her in utter shock for a few seconds, blinking stupidly. After a second of staring at Thalia's flushed face and violently blue eyes raging with fire, he turned on his heel and stumbled away, leaving his popcorn abandoned beside Percy, who was still on the ground.

Annabeth realized her mouth was open, and she closed it quickly. Thalia's chest heaved as she stared after the man, her eyes following him until he disappeared around a corner and out of the lot. The second he was gone, Thalia's expression softened and she knelt down next to Percy.

"Hey, hey," she said softly, and Annabeth was astounded at the gentleness of her voice. "It's okay, you're okay Perce, I yelled at the guy until he left."

Percy was still trembling slightly, and his eyes were somewhere Annabeth couldn't follow. She reached for his hand, but Thalia batted her away, taking Percy gently by the arm.

She helped Percy to his feet. "I've got this," she mouthed, proceeding to drag Percy behind a ride to a bench that Annabeth could only just see. She craned her neck to try and watch them talk, watching as Percy's smile slowly returned and Thalia's legs swung rhythmically below her. She couldn't help but smile.

They'd both come so far.

She had busied herself trying to clean up Percy and Thalia's cotton candy, which was starting to melt in a forgotten pile on the ground, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whipped around, her heart doing a backflip. Piper was standing behind her, a bag of mini doughnuts in her hand and cinnamon sugar coating her lips. "Hey, I found you, do you want to…?" Piper trailed off, her gaze following Annabeth's to where Percy and Thalia were sitting on the bench, still talking. They both looked a little too serious, and Thalia was staring at the ground. Her pendulum legs had stopped.

Piper glanced over at Annabeth in concern and pulled her in close. "What's going on? Is everyone okay?"

Annabeth sighed, shaking her head. "Not… not really. Are we ever really okay, though?"

Piper squeezed her arm. "More often than you think, Annabeth. But—what happened? Is anyone hurt?"

"No." Annabeth was relived she was able to say that. "Not now. We're alright. Percy just… well, there—there was popcorn and the man looked like… and he… all the blood," she trailed off faintly, swallowing.

Piper squeezed harder, dropping her head onto Annabeth's shoulder. "It's okay, babe, you don't have to talk about it. All that matter is that you're all okay."

Annabeth nodded, and buried her face into Piper's hair. The comforting scent of Piper's citrus shampoo filled her nose and she heaved a little sigh of contentment. Whatever happened, whatever went wrong with life, Annabeth knew that she had chosen her friends well. And behind the naïve, silly sixteen-year-old front that Piper had up most of the time, she knew how to be there when it mattered most, and for that Annabeth was forever grateful.

A few minutes later, Percy and Thalia walked back over to them. Percy was grinning again, and Annabeth could see the smile of ill-concealed satisfaction that was playing at Thalia's lips. Annabeth couldn't resist pulling her into a hug. With a squeak of excitement, Piper wrapped her arms around both of them, dragging Percy into the hug with her. They were all still standing there like that a minute later when Leo and Jason came around from one of the rides, Hazel and Frank holding hands and smiling a few paces behind them.

"Did I miss something?" asked Jason, blinking at them all in confusion through his gold rimmed glasses.

"Group hug!" yelled Leo, pouncing on them. They all broke apart, laughing, and Annabeth couldn't remember the last time that she had been so thankful for her friends.

As the others started up a new conversation, laughing and talking as they walked across the fairgrounds, Annabeth nudged Percy with her shoulder, asking the question she didn't really want to say out loud.

 _Are you okay?_

Percy gave her a little half smile and nodded.

He wasn't lying, Annabeth was sure of it. She smiled at the back of Thalia's head, feeling a warm surge of pride at her friends.

They were going to be okay.

* * *

"Let it _go,_ Jason," Piper whined, stomping her foot childishly. "You've been at this _forever_."

"No." Jason was squinting at the bottles, lined up in a pyramid, with his forehead scrunched up in concentration and his tongue poking out. "I'm not giving up until I win you something, even if it takes all my money." He threw the ball as hard he could at the bottles, and it missed by a solid foot, bouncing to the ground.

Piper's eyes followed it as it bounced across the cement. "I mean, that's very _gallant_ of you, Jase, but you can't use _all_ your money… we need it for rides. You just have to face the fact you have terrible aim." She smirked. "What do you expect? You're not even wearing your glasses!"

"They make me look dumb," muttered Jason, throwing another ball. Piper turned to Annabeth, who giggled. At the booth, the salesperson sighed, leaned her elbows on the counter and popped a bubble of pink gum.

After the group had finished a few more ice cream cones, cotton candies and tubs of popcorn, they had decided to spend their money on something more worth their while. It had been Frank's idea to try out some of the game booths that were overflowing with oversized stuffed animals, and of course the others were only too happy to join in. Hazel was now sitting happily on a bench nearby with a stuffed panda that was nearly as big as her beside her, and several smaller stuffed animals on her lap. Frank was on her other side, licking an ice cream cone and looking bashful.

Jason was having a little less luck. Eighteen tries in, he'd still only managed to hit one bottle off the stack on try number seven, and Piper looked just about ready to smack him over the head. Annabeth was having trouble not laughing at Jason's features all scrunched up in concentration and Piper tapping a Converse-clad shoe on the ground with a look of utter exasperation on her face.

"Just give it _up_ , Jason," she protested on the nineteenth miss, throwing her hands up in the air. Annabeth stifled another fit of giggles.

"No." Jason squinted harder. "Just one more…"

"Oh, my God," Piper muttered, marching towards her boyfriend. She slapped two more dollars on the counter, snatched the ball from Jason's hands, and threw it as hard as she could at the bottles. It hit the one in the center, pushing it right out of the tower. The others collapsed around it. "There," she said, her mouth twitching with laughter and satisfaction. "Now can we _relax_."

"You gonna pick out an animal?" the salesperson at the booth called after them, her elbows still resting on the counter and tufts of her uneven black bangs falling in her eyes. She stared at them popping another bubble.

Piper looked over at Jason and her smile widened. "You know what, yeah." She flounced back to the booth and peered over the counter, and Annabeth could see the ridiculous grin on her face. "I'll take that one," she said finally, pointing at a large stuffed teddy bear at the back of the booth. The girl at the counter stood up, unhooked it from the wall, and handed it to Piper without cracking a smile.

Piper turned to Jason with a huge triumphant grin. "Here you go, babe. I won you a bear." She shoved it into Jason's arms, and without another word, ran off towards Hazel and Frank, cackling madly.

"So…" hummed Annabeth, unable to keep from laughing. The look on Jason's face was absolutely priceless.

He shrugged, blushing. "It's kind of cute, I guess." His eyes drifted towards where Piper had skipped off.

Annabeth put her hands on her head in mock frustration and let out a short laugh. "You're a nerd. _And_ you have terrible aim."

"Yeah, but my girlfriend is awesome," Jason said teasingly as Piper trotted back towards them. She threw herself dramatically at Jason, and they kissed, the bear squashed between them.

Annabeth felt kind of sorry for the bear.

"Come on, guys, what did we talk about with the whole _PDA_ stuff?" she asked pointedly. When they continued to ignore her, she rolled her eyes and muttered, "Get a _room_ ," as she began walking away towards Percy, who was staring at himself in one of the mirrors outside the funhouse. He smiled at Annabeth's distorted reflection as she came up behind him.

"Tell me, Annabeth." He struck a ridiculous pose in the mirror, and looked back at her over his shoulder. "Does this mirror make me look fat?"

Annabeth snorted. "It's funhouse mirror, you dork. It's supposed to make you look fat."

Percy put a hand on his heart, pretending to look affronted. "Are you saying I'm fat?"

"That's literally the opposite of what I—"

"Annabeth thinks I'm fat," Percy sniffled, wiping an imaginary tear. "I knew this day could come but I didn't think that it would be so soon."

"Oh, shut up. I actually think you're very attractive…" Annabeth trailed off into awkward silence. "For a moron, of course," she added hastily.

Percy smirked. "Nice save, Chase. Wouldn't want me to know about your massive crush on me, would you. I mean, I know I'm beautiful, but having you tell me that would just be hard on your ego."

Annabeth felt her cheeks go pink, but she shifted her weight and crossed her arms, covering it up with raised eyebrows and a smirk. "As _if_ , you idiot. I have a boyfriend you know. No need to drool all over me."

Percy's expression stiffened slightly, but he quickly covered it with a laugh. "And _I've_ got a pretty awesome girlfriend, so don't you be all flirty with me, Miss Chase."

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth put her hands on her hips, taking a step towards him.

"Yeah." He crossed his arms and stepped forwards.

They were really close. Too close. Annabeth could see the specks of blue in his eyes and the stubble on his neck. She shook her head.

"Speaking of, why weren't we allowed to bring those nerds, again?"

Percy sighed, scratching the back of his neck—which was a fiery red, whether from the white hot sun or something else Annabeth couldn't tell—and taking a step back. "Oh, I don't know. Piper and her… _planning_." He made a vague gesture, and Annabeth stifled a laugh. "She told me that they weren't part of the _gang_."

"What's that even supposed to _mean_?"

Percy shrugged. "Means that Piper thinks that our lovely humans are not really part of the group. I mean, it's not like I blame her. I don't see your Luke talking to any of us—ever."

Annabeth scoffed in disbelief. "And this is coming from _you?_ You know, I don't think that your _Rachel_ has ever said more than two words to me."

"Well, yeah, but that's not really _her_ fault, is it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! I'm just saying…"

"Wait," Annabeth said, putting her hands in the air. "We can't do this again. We agreed to be done with fighting about stupid things. This qualifies as stupid."

Percy sighed, shifting and looking down. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just… I don't even know. I'm just tired, I guess."

Annabeth nodded, and they both stared at the ground for a minute in an awkward silence. They had been friends again for almost two years now, but sometimes the tension still danced in the air between them, rigid and tight. She kicked a pebble with the front of her sneaker, watching it roll across the gravel. Percy spoke again, and she looked up.

"Here, how about we forget all this and I win you one of those lovely stuffed animals that Jason just wasted about forty dollars on?"

Annabeth smiled, her hands in her pockets. Percy was stubborn and obnoxious, but when he tried, he could say just the right thing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

So they walked slowly back towards the games, talking and laughing.

Six attempts and half an hour later, Annabeth and Percy followed the rest of their friends towards the Ferris Wheel, Annabeth holding a stuffed turtle the size of her hand and a teddy bear that was so small that it barely reached the end of her pinkie. Percy hadn't been able to stop laughing at the little toy, and Annabeth had named it Tiny Bear just to make him laugh harder.

Piper had finally convinced the gang to leave the fair games alone and try out some new rides. The eight of them were standing in line for the Ferris Wheel, tickets in hand in laughter in the air. ("Something _slow_ ," Thalia said sternly, as Piper bounced and pointed to a ride that spun in three different directions.)

"Do you want to—" Annabeth started, turning to Percy.

"Hey, you, you're sitting with me," Thalia interrupted, grabbing Percy by the shoulders and steering him away. For a moment, Annabeth wasn't quite sure who Thalia was talking to, but her smug expression told her it was Percy that she was stealing. She gave Thalia an irritated look and a _what-are-you-doing_ gesture with her hands. Thalia smirked, wiggled her eyebrows and gave Annabeth the finger.

Annabeth sighed, rolling her eyes, and turned away from the line. She wasn't going to sit on the ride alone, and there was a finite number of people on their trip.

"Hey, you." Someone grabbed her arm, and Annabeth turned quickly, a gasp stuck in her throat. But it was only Leo, with his signature impish grin and his dark curls bobbing. "You're not getting away that easily. You forget how many people we have here today? I thought you were good at math."

Annabeth had to smile despite herself. "Only during the school year."

"Fair enough," Leo smirked, tilting his head. "Come on, let's get in line before the others get on without us."

They squeezed into the line behind Thalia and Percy, ignoring the indignant protests of the people standing behind them. After about ten minutes of standing in the sweaty, crowded line, they got on to their own little chair that smelled of rust and squeaked as it swung back and forth along with the wheel. A bored ride manager pushed the metal bar down over their head so they couldn't fall, and the little cart jerked as the ride began to move.

Annabeth and Leo sat in a comfortable silence as the ride slowly ascended, starting and stopping as people got on and off. Annabeth watched the people below, slowly getting smaller and smaller and looking rather like ants as they scurried around. Finally, the ride started to pick up speed, and they were bumping along the wheel, with the scraping noises of metal in their ears, and the smells of the world in their noses.

"Do you want to play a game?" Leo asked suddenly, not looking at her, but instead examining his feet on the tiny metal platform below them.

"Oh, um. Sure?" Annabeth tried to give him a reassuring smile.

He gave a half smirk in return. "I'm going to call it… confession wheel. When we get to the top, one of us has to tell the other a secret."

"Okay… why?" Annabeth crossed her ankles and scratched the side of her nose, still peering at Leo in confusion.

He shrugged. "Because it's fun. Here, okay, look at the girls behind us. But be _discreet_ about it, _okay_?"

She turned her head, trying to look carefully at the girls without them noticing. They both looked about the same age as Annabeth and Leo, one of them with dark hair so long that she was sitting on it, and the other with a long caramel braid, flushed cheeks and huge almond shaped eyes. She looked back at Leo.

"What about them?" she asked, still itching with curiosity.

Leo sighed, fidgeted, and said, "Wait a minute." After another few slow minutes of turning, their cart reached the top of the wheel, and Leo turned to her with a very strange expression on his face. "So. The girl with the—the light brown hair. That's Calypso. I—well, I…she's…"

Annabeth laughed, and Leo glared at her. She covered her mouth, eyes still twinkling with merriment.

"I like her," he confessed quietly, his hands twisting and fidgeting with something Annabeth couldn't see. She couldn't help but smile. Leo was constantly joking and saying things to try and make people laugh, but sometimes she got the feeling it was as much his defense mechanism as Thalia's cold indifference. But he'd gotten rid of the mask for now, and he looked sweet and kind of—vulnerable.

"So ask her out," said Annabeth, still smiling. Leo looked alarmed.

His eyes widened drastically, and his hands paused. The machinery creaked, and they started their descent. "Ask her out? Are you nuts? I can't just… no, I can't do that."

Annabeth was more than a little surprised. Simply put, Leo was a flirt. Not a week went by that he didn't ask someone out, jokingly or seriously. Most of the time he was rejected, but he didn't seem to mind at all; in fact, he seemed to revel in it. He glanced over his shoulder nervously, and Annabeth raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Leo. You ask girls out _constantly._ "

He fidgeted, and half glanced over his shoulder again. He leaned in towards Annabeth and spoke in a very quiet voice, and Annabeth resisted the urge to remind him that the girls behind them most certainly could not hear them unless they were yelling.

"Yeah, well, but this is different," he said, his eyebrows scrunching in concern. "I never really cared if those girls said yes or not. This time I… I guess, well…"

 _I do_. The end of Leo's sentence lingered in the air and Annabeth understood. So he didn't just think Calypso was pretty, or hot. He actually, genuinely liked her. Annabeth grinned widely, and Leo shushed her, before remembering that a smile was not something you could shush.

"Dude, you _have_ to ask her out," she said, still grinning and gently shoving Leo's shoulder.

He sighed, and looked at his hands. "But what if she says _no?_ " he whispered.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Listen, Leo. If you ask her out, there are two options. Either she says yes, and you're happy. _Or_ , she says no, you're sad for a bit, and then you move on. Either way, you've got to get on with your life."

He leaned on the shiny silver bar that was holding them in, sighing dramatically. "Advice is so much easier to give than to follow."

"If you do it I'll buy you another ice cream," Annabeth said, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Sold," he said immediately, and Annabeth had to laugh again. As their seats reached the bottom of the wheel and started to move up again, Leo tapped on the rail and stared off into the distance. Annabeth stared up at the clouds trying to find shapes in the fluffy whiteness.

As they were coming close to the top of the wheel again, Leo's tapping suddenly stopped, and he looked over at her with a knowing smirk on his face. "What about you, Annabeth? Got anything you'd like to confess to me? Like say, hmmm…. are you in love with Percy Jackson?"

The bluntness of the question almost knocked the wind out of Annabeth, and for a second she couldn't breathe. Then she coughed, and stuttered, "What?"

"Are you in love with Percy Jackson?" Leo asked again, twitching his eyebrows, his mouth set in a smug line.

"I… you… what on… _no!"_ Annabeth spluttered, trying with all her might to figure out how the conversation had ended up here.

"You took too long to say _no_ ," Leo sang, and now it was Annabeth who was worried that the people ahead of them would hear.

"I have a _boyfriend_ , Leo."

"Very cheeky," was his answer, and Annabeth rolled her eyes again, wrapping her arms self-consciously around her chest. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and she didn't like it.

It wasn't like the question hadn't ever been implied, Annabeth reflected as the wheel continued to turn. It happened more often than she found comfortable, actually. She had been so close to Percy since she was young, and sure, she had loved him as a friend when they were younger. _Maybe_ she had even liked him for a bit, but that didn't mean that they were in love _now_.

Leo's bluntness had shocked her, just because it was so ridiculous. She and _Percy Jackson_. _Together._ She watched the back of his head bob in the cart in front of her as he talked to Thalia, the breeze ruffling his dark locks. Annabeth heaved a sigh.

Why the heck did everyone think they were in love? For years, they hadn't even been able to _speak_ to each other, let alone be friends. And now that they finally were again… Annabeth knew that even small things like all these stupid assumptions could mess it all up. Their friendship was still too fragile, too new. Too soon.

Leo was still smirking. "Tell you what, Annabeth. I will bet you twenty bucks that you and Percy will be together, and I mean _together_ , by… the beginning of senior year."

She scoffed, looking away from the back of Percy's head. "Oh, you're _on_ , Valdez."

He grinned wider, and Annabeth squirmed under the scrutiny of his dark eyes. "My bank account is smiling already," he said.

"Why would you put twenty dollars in the bank?"

He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Shut up, anything goes in the bank when you're poor."

Annabeth gave him a little half smile, and continued staring at the back of Percy's head. Obviously, she was not in love with him. She had a boyfriend, for goodness sake, one who she'd been dating for almost a full year. A boyfriend who she really, _really_ liked. A lot.

A boyfriend who she loved.

 _Right?_

It wasn't like she'd ever said it out loud, but that didn't make it untrue… did it?

Annabeth gave her head a little shake, trying to rid it of the thoughts. Leo was making her overthink everything in her life that was simple. She was happy with her life, and she didn't want to go about changing it. Sometimes, routine was all she could depend on.

Leo sighed loudly, breaking the silence. He stopped tapping the bar in front of them and turned to look at Annabeth. "I don't know, Annabeth. We're starting _junior year_ in a week already. Where did all the time go?" He gazed dramatically off into the distance, and Annabeth wondered vaguely if she should start singing _Auld Lang Syne_ or something.

"I mean, we're at a cool point in life, you know?" he continued. "Like, we're old enough to do awesome stuff and start having cool experiences, but we're still young. And hot. Or at least, some of us are. Kidding!" he added hastily at Annabeth's raised eyebrow.

"Apart from the fact that that was the dorkiest speech ever, you should take your own advice on that and go ask that girl behind us out. You know, like you agreed to do for food."

Leo shook his head and tapped his foot to some unheard rhythm. "You drive a hard bargain, Chase."

"Always happy to do business," Annabeth replied smugly.

The ride finally came to a stop, slowing down every few seconds so people could hop out of the carts. Annabeth and Leo were the last off in their group, and instead of joining the crowd, Annabeth pushed Leo towards the pretty girl who had been sitting behind them, whispering "good luck," in his ear.

At the last possible second before she noticed them, Leo hissed, "You can't stand there while I ask," and shoved her away. Annabeth huffed, blew a strand of hair out of her face, and pretended to walk away, before hiding behind a garbage can a few feet away. She crouched behind the big metal trashcan and peered out at her friend, ignoring the weird looks she was getting from the strangers around her.

Leo wasn't doing anything yet; he was looking at his hands. Annabeth saw his shoulders move up and down in a deep breath, and he was turning to the girl. They were talking, and she was smiling, her cheeks pink. He said something funny, Annabeth could tell by the way the corners of her mouth had twitched up in amusement before the laughter bubbled out. He was shifting his weight, one hand in his pocket, and he looked like an adorable, bashful puppy.

Annabeth held her breath, watching him ask the girl something. Calypso reached into her little beige purse that had strips of leather that fell in a waterfall off the bottom and pulled out a pen. She grabbed his hand, scribbled something down, and her hand lingered on his for just a second too long before she walked away, smiling at Leo over her shoulder.

The second she was out of earshot, Leo jumped into the air and whooped.

Annabeth leapt up from behind the trashcan and bounced back over to Leo, punching him lightly on the shoulder. " _Leo_! Did she give you her phone number?"

"Of course she did." Leo was practically vibrating. "I'm awesome!"

Together, they headed back towards the rest of the gang, who had migrated towards another ride after they'd gotten off the Ferris Wheel. It seemed Piper had finally managed to convince Jason and Thalia to go on one of the rides that spun incredibly fast, and Annabeth arrived just in time to watch as a forlorn looking Jason and a furious Thalia stalked away from the group, an extremely apologetic Piper on their heels.

"What's going on?" she asked, slipping into the group beside Percy. Leo gave her a knowing stare and she flipped him off as subtly as she could.

"Just watch," Percy said, looking as though he was trying to hold back laughter.

"I swear, I didn't _mean_ to throw up on you guys, it just—" Piper was saying.

"I _told_ you not to go on the ride, Piper!" Thalia exploded. "You don't have a strong stomach. We've been over this before. Damn it, Piper, this was a new scarf!"

Piper waved her hands helplessly. "I'm sorry Thalia! Don't be mad! You can't stay mad at me, you love me! Jason! Jason, babe, I'm so sorry, I'll wash your sweater, I swear! I'll even buy you a new one if you want, please, I'm super sorry."

Jason caught Annabeth's eye as he walked past, rolling his eyes. Annabeth stifled a laugh.

"They had to close down the ride to clean it up," Percy added helpfully, pointing towards the ride. Annabeth couldn't stop laughing, her eyes darting over the irritated looking janitors who had started swarming the ride.

And so the day ended. A day filled with monsters from the past, snacks and sugar, rides and friends. A boy who was convinced Annabeth was in love, not with her boyfriend but with her childhood best friend. The very same boy who got the date of his dreams.

And of course, just enough vomit to top the whole thing off.

Just a normal day at the fair, of course.

* * *

 **A/N: Gahhhhhh it happened again didn't it I'm very bad at this 'consistent updating' thing. I mean, to be fair November was an absolute mess (why am I doing so much music? oh yeah I love it right oops.) December looks like its also going to be crazy busy but I am PUMPED about the next few chapters of this story so. Stay tuned for some super exciting stuff. *dances***

 **The usual shoutout to my one of my favourite girlfriends and best editors EVER Rachel, for editing this super quickly and also for being awesome and having random discussions with me. You're the best!**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this combo of humour and angst and fluff (and some vomit) and if you did (and are still around after my long pauses between updates oops hehe) drop me a review! I** **guarantee** **I will smile. (Unless you're mean.)**

 **Love all of you nerds!**

 **-GGW**


	26. Girl Talk

"Piper. You _know_ I love you, but—"

"There's always a _but,_ " Piper muttered grumpily.

Annabeth ignored her. "Can we _please_ listen to something else now?" she whined, banging her head into the car window as Piper's Christmas CD made an awful squeaking noise and restarted for the third time.

From the backseat of the car, Thalia groaned.

Piper drummed her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the first song. "This is _my_ car, Annabeth," she said bossily, lifting one hand off the steering wheel to point at Annabeth. "I can listen to whatever music I want. And I happen to like Christmas music."

"It's _May_ , Piper," Thalia pointed out, leaning forward so her head was in between the two front seats. "Can you not turn the damn thing off for a bit? Christmas was _five_ _months_ ago."

"I don't mind it," Hazel's sweet voice piped up from the back seat. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

" _Thank_ you, Hazel," Piper sniffed haughtily, giving Annabeth a not-so-subtle glare.

Annabeth reached behind the seat to pat Hazel's fluffy curls. "You are _far_ too nice, Hazel Levesque," she told her friend with a longsuffering sigh. Hazel laughed softly.

The chorus to _Jingle Bell Rock_ came on, and Piper started to belt the lyrics out loudly, her voice somewhere between yelling and singing, but still surprisingly pleasant. Annabeth couldn't resist humming along and tapping her fingers on the cool glass of the car window, watching as the scenery flew by and the tires billowed dust in their tracks, letting it settle on the smooth black paint of Piper's car.

Piper's car—a sleek black Mustang—had been a birthday present from her dad the previous summer, and Annabeth would have been inconsolably jealous if it wasn't almost basically her car as well. She spent as much time in it as Piper did, and her best friend even let her drive it fairly often. It had heated seats, a _fantastic_ sound system, and wooden inlay everywhere. Sometimes, Annabeth couldn't help but be a little but jealous for Piper's fancy lifestyle, but Piper was perfectly eager to share it with the rest of them, so it wasn't like she could exactly complain.

"Are we almost there?" Thalia whined, leaning forward in her seat again and tugging on the end of Piper's long braid. "We live in one of the biggest cities in the world. Is it really that hard to find somewhere to go shopping? We've been driving _forever._ "

With a scowl, Piper batted her hand away, pulling her braid over her shoulder. "You're such a _baby._ We can't just go to any old store, you know that. And don't distract me when I'm driving, Thals, jeez. I don't want to die."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Piper, no offence, but you are making this is _way_ more dramatic than it has to be."

Piper gasped dramatically. "Annabeth, this is only _the_ _most_ _important_ social event of our _lives—_

"Um, are you _sure_ —"

" _Fine_ , of junior year. But if you think that I'm not going to do everything in my power to look absolutely fabulous, you are badly mistaken."

Annabeth could see Piper's jovial grin, and she stifled her own laugh. "Pipes, you do realize you get a senior prom too, don't you? You don't have to throw everything you've got into this one."

Piper smirked, turning the wheel of her car smoothly. "Oh trust me, babe. This is far from everything I've got."

"I am _terrified_ for next year," Thalia muttered from the back, slumping down the leather of her seat.

Annabeth stifled another laugh. "Look Pipes, I know _you_ have all the money in the world to spend on prom clothes but you know the rest of us certainly do not. I can't afford to spend a million dollars in whatever fancy store we're going to."

"What?" Piper asked distractedly as she honked the horn and flipped off a driver in another lane. "Asshole… Oh, yeah, I know. That's why we're going to a thrift store."

"A thrift store?" Thalia shrieked, causing Piper to jump and swat at Thalia's head with her hand. "Girl, you do realize there are thrift stores in Manhattan, right?"

Piper laughed. " _Obviously_. But we can't just go to any old thrift store, you idiot. We're going to the best thrift store in the state."

Thalia groaned again, loudly and obviously. "Dude, I'm not even _going_ to prom. Can you just, like, let me stay home? I was going to binge another season of _How I Met Your Mother_ and eat an entire cake."

"And that's different from every other night of your life because…" Annabeth put in dryly.

Thalia reached around and pinched Annabeth's butt. Annabeth shrieked and glared back at her.

Piper huffed, waving her hand distractedly to separate them. "For the _last_ time, Thalia, you are going to prom, even if I have to drag you there by your toes, okay? It'll be fun." Her voice took on a sing-song quality. "You might even _meet_ someone…"

"Um, no way, Piper. We _talked_ about this—"

"Not even an argument, Thals, so shut up."

Annabeth chuckled at their friendly banter. It wasn't exactly a bad day for a drive; for the first time in a week, the sun was shining gloriously and the temperature had shot up. Annabeth let her eyes drift across the side of the road, mesmerized by the green of the grass that lay in the ditch. She watched a patch of bright purple flowers flash by, and wondered fleetingly what they would smell like.

After another few tracks on the Christmas CD had passed and they were surrounded by the density of the city again, Piper finally stopped the car by a crumbling patch of sidewalk and leapt out into the sunlight. Annabeth yawned and stretched, clambering out after her and stomping her feet to wake up her legs. Thalia fell out of the car with a groan as Hazel dusted off her flower-speckled skirt and fluffed her hair with nimble fingers.

Piper beamed back and beckoned for them to follow her.

Annabeth would have completely missed the store, had Piper not dragged the rest of them off the tattered sidewalk and through a rust-red door between a large McDonald's and some ratty-looking pawn shop. The four of them tumbled through the entryway to the soft tinkling of a bell, landing in what felt like an entirely different world. The four of them blinked owlishly in the dim light, taking in the soft ambience of the store.

It was about as big as it looked from the outside, stuffed to the breaking point with large racks of colourful clothing. Annabeth could smell faint wafts of old leather and light perfume that smelled like raindrops, and the dim lighting from the antique lamps that littered the store gave everything the faint peach tinge of sunset. There was some soft classical piece that Annabeth couldn't quite make out playing in the background, and somewhere she could hear the faint tick of an old clock.

"What is this place?" asked Thalia, unable to conceal her awe. "Are we in Narnia?"

"Oh," breathed Hazel. "It's beautiful." She reached out her fingers to gingerly run her fingers down the fur ruff of an old coat.

"I told you I was a genius," Piper grinned slyly, and Annabeth couldn't help agreeing. The store was something out of a fairy tale.

Apparently, the prices were also out of a fairy tale. Annabeth had never seen such beautiful clothing for so little, and she couldn't help but gasp slightly as she pulled a baby-soft shawl made of some sweet-smelling fur into her arms, glancing down at the price. _Fifteen dollars?_ Annabeth didn't know how much good, authentic fur like this normally was, but she was willing to bet her boyfriend that it was much, much more than fifteen bucks.

"Hello," said a soft voice from behind one of the racks. A girl who looked like she was in her early twenties pushed her way through a cluster of coats and into their little pack. Annabeth caught a glimpse of rosebud-pink cheeks and midnight-blue eyes before the girl turned to Piper with a soft smile.

"Piper Mclean." Her voice was like music, and it felt even more like they were in some distant world that shouldn't exist in the midst of this ratty neighborhood. "How lovely to see you again, it's been awhile. Special occasion?"

The girl had extremely long, dark hair that fell in loose, spiraling curls to her waist; it swung mesmerizingly as she talked.

Annabeth saw Thalia looking at the new arrival, and her friend's gaze was definitely nowhere near the girl's eyes. Annabeth hid a grin behind her hand.

Piper gave the girl a wide smile and tucked a lock of chocolaty hair behind her ear. "Silena! Still running the shop? It looks _gorgeous_ in here, I love what you've done."

Silena nodded slightly, still smiling at Piper. Annabeth wondered if she had actually noticed any of the rest of them. "My grandmother is still too sick to take care of it for now. Besides, she says she likes it better when I manage the shop." Her voice was so soft that Annabeth almost had to lean in to hear it. "But what brings you to our humble abode today, Piper?"

"Well, our prom is tomorrow night," Piper admitted, "and we figured we'd better—"

" _Tomorrow?_ " Silena broke in, raising one of her perfect eyebrows. "Running a little late there?"

Piper laughed sheepishly and scratched her ear. "Yes. Well."

Silena rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about, I'm on it." Annabeth watched as her eyes shifted between the three of them, expression calculating. She gave them another delicate smile before disappearing behind one of the racks again, her long hair swishing behind.

"Um," said Thalia intelligently, her blue eyes following the girl. Piper raised an eyebrow at Annabeth, tilting her head slightly in Thalia's direction. The two of them exchanged mischievous grins as Thalia watched Silena walk away just a _little_ too intently.

A few minutes later—by the time that Annabeth felt like if she stood here for much longer she would dissolve into a blob of calmness—Silena returned, her arms full of silky fabrics. She draped a few of them over each girl's arm and gave them all another smile.

"Hey," protested Thalia. "I don't need these. I'm not going to prom."

Silena frowned at her, cocking her head slightly. "Of _course_ you are, honey."

Thalia stared incredulous at Piper, who rolled her eyes and elbowed her in the ribs. Thalia furiously pinched Piper's butt, and Piper shrieked quietly and yanked on Thalia's spiky hair.

Silena walked on silently ahead of them as if she couldn't see the entire exchange.

Annabeth and Hazel rolled their eyes at each other. Their friends were literally five-year-olds.

There were tiny change rooms in the back of the shop; each stall was only a few square feet wide, with a yellowed mirror and a tiny bench at the back. The four of them all squeezed into the largest change room at the end of the row, and Thalia immediately flopped down on the bench and pulled out her phone. Piper gave a slight scoff of annoyance.

The dresses Silena had picked out for them were _gorgeous_ ; they each held about three dresses in their arms, each one prettier than the last. The four girls—even Thalia—exchanged matching grins.

An hour passed, and then two. The girls were in and out of the overheated change room, finding dresses and putting them back, laughing at some of the styles and evaluating each choice. It didn't take Hazel long to find her dress, one of the first ones Silena had given to her. It had a simmering gold halter bodice and a long, puffy black skirt that flared out in an inimitably Hazel style. Silena had even dug out a pair of dainty gold flats that fit perfectly on Hazel's tiny feet, which had Hazel beaming like never before. While Piper and Annabeth continued their search, she changed out of the dress and slipped onto the bench beside Thalia and curled up into a little ball, watching the other two bicker and twirl.

Piper found hers soon after. It was a soft, coral pink colour that reminded Annabeth of sunrise, and it flowed like silk when Piper moved, soft and delicate. The skirt tumbled in gentle waves down to Piper's ankles and it was sleeveless, with intricate patterns of lace that grew up the front and back of the bodice. She grinned and twirled for the other three, and Annabeth and Hazel clapped enthusiastically. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Thalia, you haven't tried on _any_ dresses," Piper whined, stumbling as her twirling came to a stop. "You have to try on at least one."

Thalia groaned loudly, though Annabeth got the impression she was slightly enjoying the attention. "Piper, I told you already I'm not going."

"Yes you _are._ " Piper grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Here try this one. I know, I know. Just—try the one."

Thalia, huffed, flipped Piper off, and turned to pull the dress on. She turned back a second later, her arms held out slightly so they could see the dress. The whole dress was a dim purplish-grey, and the skirt puffed out to Thalia's knees. The top was covered in the tiniest flowers that swirled in a delicate pattern, and the belt had tiny silver gems.

Piper hummed quietly, her hand on her chin, before deciding, "It's too short. Prom dresses supposed to be _long_ , it's homecoming you wear shorter ones for. Come on, Thals, why don't you try—"

"Oh, no way," interrupted Thalia, tugging on the skirt uncomfortably. "I'm not trying on any other dresses. It's this or nothing. If you insist on making me go, you're going to have to take your pick."

"Alright. _Fine,"_ Piper grumped. "At least… pick some nice shoes or something—"

"I'm wearing my combat boots and a leather jacket. _Fight_ me _._ "

Piper held up her hands in defeat and turned back to Annabeth. "I wash my hands of this absolute _child_ ," she declared, and Annabeth stifled a laugh at Thalia's indignant expression.

After two hours and twelve minutes, Annabeth was the only without a dress. Even Piper was starting to pull out her hair in frustration, and Hazel had fallen asleep on the bench. Annabeth sighed.

"Piper, stop trying so hard. We should just go with the blue one. Brings out the eyes and all that." She was getting extremely sick of changing from dress to dress.

"No, we can't!" Piper whined. "That one was falling off. You were swimming in it, Annabeth, _swimming._ "

 _"_ _Fine,"_ growled Annabeth, "how about the purple one, I just want to—"

"No way _,_ the purple one was way too—"

A soft knock beside the doorway of the change room silenced Piper, and Annabeth pulled open the curtain to reveal Silena again, with a pink-lipped smile and a dress in hand. "Sorry interrupt your conversation, girls, but I think I found you the perfect dress." She handed it to Annabeth and disappeared without another word.

Annabeth and Piper shared a curious look, before Piper quickly pushed Annabeth into the change room. Annabeth spent a few minutes pulling the dress on before shyly turning around to look at herself in the mirror, and _it was perfect._

The skirt fell in waves of midnight blue down to the floor, clinching in slightly at the waist. It was more comfortable than Annabeth thought possible, and soft lacy patterns surrounded her shoulders and collarbones, dotted with tiny silver gems that glimmered like starlight. Annabeth couldn't help grinning and spinning around and around, watch the skirt flare and dust her legs.

"You look like a goddess, Annabeth," Piper said in a hushed voice, her hands clasped slightly.

Thalia rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, swinging her feet off the bench so they hit the floor. "Oh my god, you nerds, can we _go_ now?"

Annabeth and Piper exchanged a smirk. "We still need shoes."

It didn't take long to find a pair of shoes for each dress: simple coral stilettos for Piper and strappy silver heels for Annabeth, the latter with complicated straps that wound around her toes and ran up the length of her foot to loop around her ankles.

Annabeth didn't normally like heels, but she _loved_ these. Piper looked positively victorious.

Finally, Thalia's whining complaints of _I'm starving, when are we going home?_ got too loud, so they gathered up the mounds of fabric and shoes and brought them to the cashier, where Silena was smiling sweetly.

Ten minutes later, the dresses were paid for, and the three girls were back in Piper's air-conditioned car, cruising home towards the setting sun that glowed like a burning ember. Annabeth smiled, leaning against the window and tapping her fingers to the beat of the soft pop song that was playing on the radio. She could feel her eyelids drooping, and Annabeth blinked, determined to watch the sunset and the skyline as the sky faded to its inevitable oblivion.

She was with her best friends in the world, and that was all that really mattered.

* * *

"Are you _crying,_ Thalia?"

"No," Thalia croaked, her voice hitching slightly on the end of the word.

Piper grinned in triumph. "Guys, Thalia's crying. We did it!"

Thalia scowled and blinked viciously at Piper. "I am not, shut up, Piper. You're crying."

Piper sighed, dramatically wiping a tear off her cheek. "That's nothing new."

Annabeth stuffed another handful of chips into her mouth and leaned further back into her mountain of pillows. "Did you guys know that they shot this in a pool that was only like, three feet deep? Also apparently Kate Winslet didn't want to wear a wetsuit at all in the movie and got pneumonia."

Thalia threw a tissue box at Annabeth's head, which she dodged easily. "No one _cares_ about your stupid facts, nerd. Let us watch the movie in peace." Behind her, Piper dissolved into another round of sobs and the others fell silent again. Hazel blew her nose.

It had been Hazel's quiet idea to have a sleepover the night before the big prom, and Piper's massive house had proved the best location. They were all sitting on feather-soft mattresses that Piper had pulled out from the back of one of her closets, surrounded by pillows, blankets and tissues, and crying over a fictional tragedy of a very real boat.

Twenty minutes later, when the credits started to roll and Celine Dion's tell-tale voice started to wash over them, Thalia picked up the remote and muted the television, turning to face Piper with an irritated look on her face.

"Well that officially sucked ass," she said, making a face at Piper. "Why _Titanic_ , of all movies? Why couldn't you choose something cool like _Star Wars_?"

Piper looked vaguely wounded and started to say something but Annabeth silenced her with a wave of her hand. "Aw, Thals is just mad 'cause you saw her cry."

"I am _not_ ," Thalia said, sounding somewhat like a whiny child.

"You keep telling yourself that, honey," Hazel smiled from Thalia's other side, and Annabeth and Piper laughed. Thalia pouted some more.

Three hours earlier, when they had all been settled in front of the giant flat screen TV in Piper's family room in the basement surrounded by blankets and an expensive array of snacks, Piper had decided it was time to choose a movie. As the others settled, she'd flipped through several shelves of DVDs that hadn't been touched in years until she'd found an old copy of _Titanic._ She'd pulled it off the shelf with an air of great triumph, blown off a cloud of dust, sneezed twice and shoved it in the DVD player. After about ten minutes, Thalia's complaining had stopped and they'd all relaxed into the arms of one of the highest grossing movies of all time. They spent several happy hours gushing over the beauty over a young Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet and pretending they didn't love the movie nearly as much as they did.

Piper snatched the remote from Thalia's hand and pressed a button so the screen went black. She then turned to the others with a mischievous grin on her face. "Who's up for some truth or dare?"

Annabeth groaned loudly, and Piper shoved her over with a grin, throwing a blanket over her head. "Oh, shut up Annabeth. You know it'll be fun. My dad's at a conference, remember? We _literally_ have this entire house to ourselves."

"Hey, you used literally correctly!" laughed Annabeth, flipping onto her stomach and pulling the blanket off her head so that the static made her hair stick up. "That's new."

Piper huffed. "You're so annoying. Who wants to start? Oh, I know. Annabeth, truth or dare?"

Annabeth groaned again, and threw a pillow at Piper, who dodged it so it hit Thalia square in the face. "You're not seriously going to—?"

"Truth. Or. Dare."

Annabeth exhaled for as long as she could manage. "Fine. Truth."

Piper smirked mischievously. "Good luck with that one, Chase." She turned to Hazel and whispered something in her ear, and Hazel grinned back, her expression equally mischievous. Then Piper whispered to Thalia who nodded, looking impressed.

"Can you just… say it already?" Annabeth asked, twisting her hands in her lap.

"Ready?" Piped gave her a sly look, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. "So Annabeth, tell us the truth: are you in love with Luke?"

Annabeth blinked, looking between their expectant faces. "Um. Yes?"

"It's not exactly a question you answer with another question," Hazel said, her voice more suggestive than what sounded natural on her.

"I… what if I just… don't know yet?" Annabeth asked, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"Babe, you've been dating him for like, a year and a half now." Piper said knowingly. "You either love him or you don't."

"I don't… know?" Annabeth couldn't seem to stop saying everything like it was a question. The problem was, she had almost left it at _I don't_. It wasn't like she hadn't wondered the question for herself. It was a difficult question, and she'd spent hours of falling asleep trying to discern the answer from her muddled mind. She didn't know what love was supposed to feel like. Maybe this was it. Maybe the nervous flutter she felt when she saw Luke was love. But still, if she was really truly in love wouldn't she be able to just— _tell_?

"If you're not in love with Luke, then who _are_ you in love with?" Thalia asked coyly.

Annabeth blinked up at them, confused. They were all leaning in to her, like they thought she was about to tell them some big secret. "I…I…"

And then all of a sudden, the true meaning of what they were insinuating hit her, and she sat bolt upright. "No. Guys, _no!_ Not this again! I thought we dropped this _months_ ago." She raked her fingers into her hair, covering her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Not again."

The other three exchanged furtive looks. "We did drop it, Annabeth," said Piper's voice, taking on a cautious tone. "We just… I mean, it didn't seem to go away, so we just…"

"No. _No!_ Oh my god, you guys, you're going to start making me question everything I know." She looked up to see the others exchanging smug looks and something in her mind snapped a little. "No, that's _not_ something that you want. It's weird, and confusing, and… _no,_ stop it! I'm _not_ in love with Percy Jackson. I'm _not!"_

"Say it a little louder, Annabeth—"

"Shut up _. Shut UP!"_

For a moment everything was silent as her friends blinked at her, finally seeming to realize they'd gone a little further then they should have. Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek, silently cursing herself for losing her temper like that. It was just that… people seemed to bring it up far too often, and only because she and Percy were such good friends. Probably also that they were both so good looking. But still, it had started to get to Annabeth's head. That was all it was, really.

It was Hazel who broke the silence with her fairy-soft voice. "Um, Thalia. Truth or dare?"

Thalia scoffed like it was the most obvious question in the world. "Dare. Obviously. I'm not telling you nerds any of my deepest darkest secrets."

Hazel bounced on the mattress. "I dare you to eat the biggest chocolate bar in the house in thirty seconds."

"Well _that_ sounds like the easiest dare in the world. Bring it on!" Thalia grinned widely, and Piper leapt up, beckoning the others to follow.

"We have some pretty massive chocolate bars in one of the cupboards, I know my dad hoards them. Come on!" She raced up the stairs three at a time, and the others scrambled to follow. Annabeth pulled herself to her feet, trailing up the stairs behind the rest of them. Though her friends might prod too far sometimes, at least they knew how to get a conversation back on track.

* * *

A few more hours passed, and Hazel fell asleep in the corner like a cat, her legs curled up to her chest and her head on her arms. Piper draped a blanket over her and the others continued to play in hushed voices. Piper snooped through some of her dad's cabinets in the basement until she found a few light alcoholic coolers that she handed to the other two with a smile and a _come on, guys, live a little._ Annabeth took a sip. It tasted like Sprite.

"The farthest you've ever gone," said a slightly tipsy Thalia when Piper responded with _truth._

Piper cheeks flushed slightly pink, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a sultry grin. "Well, I mean, there was this one time at a party that Jason and I—"

"Ah!" squeaked Thalia. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

"No, Thalia, it was both of our first times and it was _great,_ we—"

"Nope." Thalia put her fingers in her ears. "That's my brother, don't want to hear it."

"Come on, you asked. It's not like it was just the one time, we've also—"

"La la la la, not _listening_ ," Thalia sang, screwing her eyes shut.

Piper rolled her eyes and took another sip from the fancy glass she'd pulled out from one of their cupboards to _class everything up_ , in her own words. "How about you, Annabeth? The farthest you've ever gone?"

Annabeth's cheeks felt hot. "You can't do that, you didn't ask truth or dare."

Piper smirked. "I'm asking you as a _friend._ "

Annabeth sighed. "I mean, I guess there was the time Luke and I—"

Thalia shrieked loudly, and in the corner Hazel fell off her mattress, blinking up at them questioningly. "What… what's going on?"

The three of them had to explain what was going on to a rather scandalized Hazel, who winced and tried to cover her ears. "Gross, I don't want to hear about your _shenanigans._ "

"Shenanigans?" asked Annabeth, amused.

"None of that for me," muttered Hazel under her breath, and then went back to sleep in her corner looking slightly disgruntled.

 _Truth or dare_ transitioning to _never have I ever_ , and their voices starting to stumbled with sleep. The questions transitioned to an awkward realm that led to forbidden stories that wouldn't have been suggested in the daylight and stories that had been long forgotten.

Another hour passed and Thalia started snoring on the couch, her head lolling off and her spiky hair brushing the floor. Piper and Annabeth wound up cuddled together under a single thick blanket and whispering as quietly as their voices would go. It was soft and quiet under the blanket, and light tinted pink worked its way through the fleece as the two friends whispered through the warm, stuffy air, their eyes heavy.

"Hey, I'm sorry if we crossed a line earlier," Piper murmured, her voice clumsy with sleep. "I didn't to make you upset. It just... you kind of seem like… well, you know."

"Not really," Annabeth confessed quietly, shifting so her head rested on her crossed arms on the mattress. "I _don't_ know. Not really. I don't really know a lot of things. Not just… stuff about Luke. I'm not so smart, I think."

"You're _very_ smart!" yawned Piper. "That's why I love you. Because of your _brains._ "

It may have been the fact that it was almost four in the morning or that it felt like such a hushed environment under the blanket, but Annabeth and Piper suddenly both found the remark ridiculously funny, dissolving into hiccups of silenced laughter. They laughed until it wasn't funny anymore, helplessly wheezing under the blanket, until Annabeth said suddenly—

"I don't… I don't think I'm in love with Luke. I just…I don't _know._ " The minute she said it, she regretted it; all her normal limits seemed to have disappeared with the alcohol and exhaustion.

Piper's face crumpled a bit in sympathy. "Hey, it's okay, babe," she said, patting Annabeth's cheek a little drunkenly. Annabeth sniffled softly, sighing and burying her head in her best friend's chest. "You're only sixteen, 'beth," Piper continued soothingly. "You have plenty of time to figure everything out. You have an entire…" she gestured at Annabeth, trying to find the right word, " _lifetime._ "

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed, realizing through the fog that neither of them would even remember this the next morning. "Yeah, I do. But I know that I love _you_ , Pipes. You know that, right?"

"Course I do," Piper replied, planting a sloppy kiss to Annabeth's forehead. "Told you, you're my _favourite._ "

"Even more than Jason?" Annabeth giggled sleepily.

"Yup," Piper proclaimed. "It's okay. Everybody knows that you're my soulmate."

Annabeth laughed softly, giving a tiny hiccup and holding her best friend closer. A few minutes later, Piper fell asleep cuddled next to her, and Annabeth was the last one awake.

It was a weird feeling, being the last one in the whole house to be awake, the last one to be aware of her surroundings. Her sleep-deprived brain was fascinated by it.

After a few minutes, her thoughts drifted to the day ahead. It was one day in her high school life, nothing more than her junior prom. It wasn't hugely significant; she probably wouldn't even remember the details in couple years.

But still, something about it felt important, almost foreboding, and Annabeth couldn't help wondering if it was going to be a very significant day of her life.

What she didn't expect was for the events of the next day to be quite so monumental.

* * *

 **A/N: Helloo friends, look at me I got two updates up in December. (I mean, granted they were complete bookends to December but still. Mission accomplished.) SO I hoped you enjoyed this fluffy mess of a chapter - yes it is kind of a filler, but it's pretty important because it's a transition into next chapter which will be SUPER MEGA IMPORTANT. I'm going to try and get that next one up soon because I'm PUMPED for it, so stay tuned babes. ;)**

 **So this chapter was super duper fun to write, and thanks to my brainstorm and editing buddy Rachel (TheWritingManiac) for all her excellent effort (I had to smell a fur hat to prove a point but that's another story.) Rachel is awesome also because she wrote two HUGE oneshots for me and Mia (herecomesthepun) for Christmas and they're absolutely fantastic so do her a favour and check them out you'll probably cry. That's all I love you Rache.**

 **So. Tell me what you thought and any theories for what's going to be 'monumental' in next chapter? Stay gold, lovelies.**

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR. *confetti***

 **-GGW**


	27. Something Wicked

The eyeshadow shimmered like starlight.

Annabeth closed her eyes as Hazel dusted the midnight grey powder onto her eyelids with the lightest hand, her fingers skimming across Annabeth's cheeks and the brush so light that she could barely feel it. The powder—a dark, shimmering silver that Hazel had pulled out from Piper's stacks of makeup—looked incredible as Annabeth peeked through her eyelashes to see in the mirror. Piper said it brought out silver sparkles in the dress, and Hazel said it brought out the stormy grey of Annabeth's eyes. Either way it looked nice.

It was the morning of the big prom—or rather, the _afternoon_ of the big prom. None of the girls had woken up until noon except Hazel, who threw the curtains open at 9am only to have the other three scream at her until she hurriedly closed them again. Annabeth had flopped back onto her pillow, and they had all gone back sleep for another three hours.

(Except Hazel, who made muffins.)

Once they had all mostly woken up, the scent of chocolate chips in the air and a spilled case of eyeshadow covering the expensive tiles of Piper's bathroom floor, the four girls began to prepare for the big night.

Piper and Hazel were in charge of makeup, and Annabeth helped as best she could. Her duties mostly included sitting as still as she could while Hazel did her makeup; then she moved on to helping Piper paint her nails. Her best friend sat on the edge of the bathtub while Annabeth carefully dipped the brush into the nail polish. Piper's long hair was in a messy bun with chunks of hair falling out around her face. Annabeth shook her head as she looked up from Piper's nails to see her best friend in nothing but her bra and underwear, one long leg sticking straight across the bathtub and another one draped over the toilet. The look was completed with a makeup brush between Piper's teeth.

"Piper, calm down," Annabeth laughed as Piper squirmed and tried to yell through the brush in her mouth at Thalia, who'd fallen asleep in a corner with one shoe on and a toothbrush in her mouth. "We have _six_ _hours_ until prom starts. We have time _._ "

Piper's eyes widened comically. " _Thix?_ " she lisped through the brush. "I thought we were thill at theven! We _really_ have to hurry!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and yanked the brush out of Piper's mouth. "You sound like a two-year-old, Pipes. Chill."

Piper pouted.

Hazel was dusting makeup on her own cheeks now, though Annabeth didn't know why she bothered; Hazel's coffee-coloured skin was unfairly flawless. Thalia had finally woken up and continued pulling her shoe on the wrong foot while sleepily brushing her teeth with the other hand.

There were a million things to be done. Annabeth had never realized quite how much _effort_ went into preparing for a prom. First, legs and other parts had to be shaved, and then they had to try on their dresses so Piper and Hazel could choose which colours of makeup to use. The dresses then had to come off again, makeup had to be done, and Annabeth hadn't even dared to mention hair yet. Everything was going on at once, and Annabeth wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry when she glanced over Thalia, who appeared to be sleepily brushing her teeth with orange juice in the corner.

The four of them were taking up the majority of Piper's giant bathroom. There was makeup brushes covering the counter, a rainbow of eyeshadow powder covering every flat surface imaginable, and the dresses hung askew on the shower curtain. The bathtub was full of shoes, and a box of bobby pins had spilled all over the floor, and no one had bothered to pick them up yet.

Annabeth turned her gaze to Hazel, who was pulling up her curly hair with quick fingers. She had carefully twisted it into an elegant half-up style, letting the rest of the curls frame her face and fall around her shoulders in perfect ringlets. Annabeth helped her thread tiny gold flowers that Hazel had produced from her pocket through the braided bun, and they matched her eyes perfectly.

"Ugh, I just _can't_ get my hair to look right," Hazel said, spinning around in one of Piper's oversized silk bathrobes and checking out the back of her hair with a mirror. "I suppose it will have to do though, won't it?" She put the mirror down, her lips pursed.

"First, Hazel, your hair looks absolutely _fantastic_ ," Piper said, pulling at a split end of her own scraggly hair before holding up a manicured finger. "Speaking of which, Annabeth, I need to get a haircut this afternoon, okay? Anyway, Hazel, I would _kill_ for your curls, so don't even start. Second, why are you doing your hair already? We still have like, five hours to get ready."

Hazel sighed, pulling a pair of fuzzy socks onto her feet. "Yeah, but I have to be at the school at two instead of seven, remember? I'm on the decoration committee and we have to put the final touches on the gym. I'm telling you, you guys are going to love the theme this year." She paused, laughing lightly at the terrified look on Piper's face. "Don't worry, I'll be back here at five and you can squish me into my dress before pictures. Hair and makeup's all done." She patted her round cheeks and grinned at them.

Piper smiled back and continued painting her toenails with a coral colour that matched her dress perfectly. "You're so lucky you get to go to prom in sophomore year, Hazel, I _really_ wanted to go last year. I loved the dresses that were trending—and did you _see_ those Instagram posts?"

Hazel grinned, looking bashfully down at the floor, twitching her toes. "Yes, well. Frank said I had to go with him or he wasn't going at all, so. I kind of _had_ to."

Annabeth elbowed her teasingly. "Nah, you're just in love with Frank."

Hazel blushed brightly as she pulled on a pair of jeans, and Piper snickered. In the corner, Thalia started snoring.

* * *

Four hours later, the girls were all miraculously ready to go. Hazel had returned in one piece at about five, and after a quick dinner of Chinese takeout and leftover muffins they quickly put the last touches on everyone's makeup and touched up hair before the boys arrived.

While Hazel was gone, the others had gone with Piper so she could get her hair trimmed; the ends were now soft and pretty, and Annabeth had deftly curled her friend's hair into loose ringlets, braiding part of it into a loose braid that fell down her back and leaving the rest in loose curls. She slipped a little hairpin of pink flowers into the top of the braid, and Piper spun around, admiring it in the mirror. On a whim, Annabeth and Thalia had decided to add two new blue streaks in Thalia's dark hair, replacing the old ones that had long started to fade.

Hazel and Piper had worked especially hard on Annabeth's hair, straightening out her natural curls and putting looser waves in. They had then pulled her hair into a gorgeous half-up style, leaving long curls spiraling down her back; Piper had even dexterously pulled out a few ringlets that framed Annabeth's face beautifully.

By quarter to six, everyone's nails were painted, their makeup perfect, and all the dresses were on and adjusted perfectly. Everyone looked surprisingly put together, and when the doorbell rang there were only a couple minutes of distressed shrieking before a sweetly smiling Piper opened the door for the boys with a tray of leftover chocolate-chip muffins in hand.

Jason and Frank arrived first, having come in the same car. Frank's round face instantly lit up at the sight of Hazel and he looked down at her bashfully, shuffling with his hands in his pockets. She took his arm with a smile bright enough to rival the sun, and disappeared into the house.

Piper squealed delightedly as Jason spun her around, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's neck and kissing him full on the mouth. Annabeth and Thalia cat-called them teasingly. Then Piper dragged him into her house by the hand, practically bouncing with excitement.

Annabeth sat on the front steps, her head in her hands and gazing off into the distance. Thalia took a careful seat beside her.

"He's coming, you know."

"What?" asked Annabeth, shaking off the dreamy state she'd disappeared into. She blinked at Thalia for a moment before— "Oh, right, yeah I know. Luke's probably just a little late, that's all."

Thalia nodded at her, swallowing. "I don't—I don't know why Piper's making me go to this. I just can't do this kind of stuff, you know? I don't fit in with your party crowd. It's just… Piper seemed so keen for me to come and I didn't want to disappoint her."

Annabeth dropped her hands from her face to look at Thalia, gently putting her hand on her friend's knee. "Thalia, Piper wants you to come because we love you, and we all want to be with you for this. Plus, you _need_ to come. It's—it's part of the whole high school experience. We don't want you regretting it in a couple years." She paused, trying to find the right way to convince Thalia. "Listen, I'll bet you twenty bucks that you're going to have a blast at prom. I promise."

Thalia snorted. "Okay, you got yourself a deal, Chase. I'll see you on the other side of the war."

And with that, she stood up, dusted off her short tulle skirt, and disappeared inside the house, leaving Annabeth to wait for Luke alone.

Luke pulled up in a little yellow taxi a few minutes later, and Annabeth rushed to the curb to greet him. She couldn't help but grin at him a little nervously. Even though they'd been dating for over a year, Annabeth still felt butterflies about the night ahead, and not necessarily in a good way. It felt… not _special,_ exactly. Just different.

 _Something wicked this way comes,_ she quoted absently in the back of her mind, and then shook her head at her pessimistic tendencies. _It's going to an amazing night,_ she tried to convince herself. _A night we're all going to remember._

Luke grinned back at her, taking her hand and slipping the little corsage of white flowers he'd bought around her wrist. "Hi," he said, grinning softly, and Annabeth flushed. "You look… wow. Just… _wow_. Do you—you wanna go inside?"

Annabeth nodded back with a small smile and took his arm, trying to force down the nervousness. To distract herself, she checked out her boyfriend. He looked pretty _wow_ himself, with a midnight-blue tie that matched her dress perfectly and a tidy suit that was completely devoid of wrinkles. His white-blond hair was slicked back neatly, and he grinned at Annabeth with pearly white teeth.

The conversations from the previous night lay forgotten.

Annabeth looked down at her toes, grinning at the navy blue nail polish and the tiny silver gems that Piper had carefully placed on with a pair of tweezers. There was a flutter of excitement in her stomach as she squeezed Luke's hand.

Within a few minutes, the rest of the gang and their dates had arrived. Of the boys, there were Jason, Frank, Leo, Percy, and Luke, and the girls included Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, and Thalia, as well as Rachel Dare and Leo's new girlfriend Calypso, who Annabeth personally prided herself in helping set up with Leo.

As a surprise to all of them, Piper had wheedled her dad into hiring a fancy photographer to take their pictures, although Annabeth doubted that Mr. McLean had needed much convincing; he was more than willing to buy things for his daughter and her friends.

The photographer showed up at quarter past six, with a big bag of fancy camera equipment and a blindingly white smile. Annabeth couldn't help but immediately like his golden-blond hair and wide grin.

"You sure we couldn't find a better location than your friend's _house?_ " Luke hissed in her ear as Piper started an animated conversation with the camera guy and led him to the kitchen.

Annabeth swatted at his arm playfully. "Babe, you've never seen Piper's backyard. It's basically a mini Central Park." She walked into the kitchen and smiled at the sight of the rest of the gang, standing in random groups and talking. Percy and Leo were involved in some sort of animated argument already, and their dates were trying to smother their laughter.

Annabeth paused for a second to survey Percy. He was wearing a dark suit with a green tie that matched his eyes, and for once, his hair wasn't sticking up in its usual disarray. Instead, it was tidy, like he had gotten a haircut, the sides and back shorter but the top still soft and tousled like it had always been. Annabeth remembered how she used to pull on it when they were kids, saying that if he wasn't careful she would take it for her own. She tried not to notice how the new haircut unveiled the way his thick black lashes framed those childishly-big eyes.

He looked… good. Like, _really_ good, Annabeth noted internally, before immediately chastising herself for even going there. The only part of his outfit she didn't like was what was draped over his arm: Rachel Dare was smiling graciously at the rest of them, her long red curls held up in a messy but elegant twist. She was wearing a silky teal dress that fell in shiny waves to the floor, with a cage of silver jewels in V shapes covering the bodice. Annabeth couldn't help but acknowledge that she looked gorgeous, and she felt a pang of something she couldn't quite recognize in her chest.

Annabeth shook her head slightly, shifting her gaze to Leo and his date. They were arm-in-arm and both beaming, Leo with a smile that covered his whole face and his toes bouncing, Calypso with a soft smile that seemed to radiate light. She was wearing a snowy white dress that set off her simple hairdo: the front pieces were pulled back and twisted gently, dotted with little white flowers, and the rest of her caramel hair fell down her back in silky waves. Her eyes were large and luminous. Annabeth watched as Calypso gazed at Leo while he told a story; a soft, affectionate expression stealing onto her sweet face as she interlaced their fingers.

Something in Annabeth's heart twisted as she watched them, especially as she turned back to her own boyfriend, only to find him on his phone. He put it away hastily when he caught Annabeth's disapproving stare.

"Come on, guys!" Piper yelled, motioning for them all to come outside. "Time for pictures!"

As it turned out, a drizzle of raindrops had started to drip down from the sky while they spoke inside, but the camera man didn't seem to find this a problem. Piper ran upstairs and fished an array of brightly coloured umbrellas to match their outfits, and they took their pictures outside in the rain, holding up umbrellas that matched their clothes and laughing with crinkled eyes and genuine smiles.

The camera man showed Annabeth the pictures on the tiny screen on the back of his camera and she couldn't help but give a little gasp of amazement. They were all traipsing around in the spring-green grass, holding umbrellas over their heads and laughing joyously at unheard jokes. The couples' photos looked surprisingly nice: Piper had even climbed on Jason's back for theirs, holding the pink umbrella for both of them as the couple beamed at the camera. They all looked pretty good, including her and Luke, although she noticed that his expression didn't look entirely genuine. Annabeth pushed the nagging feeling down. It was hard to look good on camera, right?

She continued clicking through the pictures, though she passed over Rachel and Percy's bright smiles a bit more hastily. Annabeth smiled as she saw Thalia's; her friend had taken some pretty wicked solo photos, posing without smiling with her leather jacket draped around her shoulders and kicking her scuffed combat boots into the air.

There were a few group photos mixed in, and Annabeth couldn't help but beam as she clicked through them. Not even Frank had his eyes closed, and they all looked genuinely happy and comfortable, smiling with their arms around each other's shoulders, cheeks flushed with excitement. Even Thalia's usual smirk didn't look unnatural.

Only Luke looked slightly out of place, looking slightly uncomfortable with Jason's arms around his shoulder on the end of the row. He was giving the camera a smile that didn't seem quite right—it didn't quite reach his eyes. Annabeth reasoned that it was because he didn't spend too much time with her friends. Rachel, too, looked a little unsure in the pictures, where she had been squished between Piper and Hazel.

It was probably a little hard for the extra people to join in with their group; everyone in the gang had so much history together, so many memories made. Annabeth reasoned that it would be difficult to immediately fit in.

She finally handed the camera back to the photographer with a quick smile and went off to find the rest of her friends, who had all gone inside to avoid the spring drizzle.

Piper's dad returned from his business trip a few minutes before everyone left, and he immediately dropped his bags on the floor of the huge entryway, rushing outside to wrap Piper in a hug and take a few pictures of his own with his phone.

Annabeth thanked the camera guy, and he handed her a card with a smile and a _call me if you ever need a photographer!_ Annabeth glanced down at the card curiously: it simply read _Apollo_ , followed by the contact info, and she couldn't quite decide if that was his name or his company.

Finally, 6:45pm rolled around, and it was time to leave.

The whole group of them waited on the curb under Piper's umbrellas for their ride—Piper's dad had surprised them all and splurged to rent the group of them a limousine to take them. It arrived a few minutes later, long and shiny, and the group of them piled in delightedly. Annabeth was grateful for the warmth of the car; none of them, especially the girls, had wanted to walk the four blocks to school in the rain. She turned to give Luke a nervous smile, but found him on his phone again.

They all arrived at the school right on time. The large group—Annabeth counted quickly and found that the gang had expanded to eleven people—ran across the parking lot, breathless and laughing as they tried to avoid the rain.

Annabeth sucked in a breath as they entered the gym. The usual array of faded banners and sweaty students was gone, and they had entered a fairyland. She could see Hazel's elegant touch in the decorations and couldn't help but grin in awe as she took it in.

The gym was covered in shimmering fairy lights, and dotted with fresh plants with pretty pastel flowers. The whole room was basked in a fern-green light that reminded Annabeth of sunlight shining through leaves in a forest, and tiny pastel lights that matched the flowers floated around the dance floor. There were tables lining the walls, decorated with green ivy and tiny flowers, and the table with the punch sparkled with little fairy lights. On the ceiling there was a huge plastic chandelier trimmed with more ivy and dripping tiny pink flower pedals every few minutes.

It looked _amazing_ , and Annabeth couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

"It's gorgeous!" Annabeth gushed to Hazel, who simply beamed as she was showered with compliments on all sides by the gang. Annabeth turned back to Luke. "This is going to be _fantastic_."

Luke laughed putting a hand around her waist and pulling her protectively into his side.

And with the twinkle of fairy lights and the flash of a shutter, the night began.

* * *

A few hours later, the dance was in full swing. Outdated pop music blared loudly, the hundreds of students swaying and jumping to the beat. Annabeth was dancing eagerly with her crew, jumping up and down as best she could on her clumsy heels. She glanced around, looking for her friends: Piper was swinging her long hair around and Hazel was bouncing on the tips of her toes, looking gleeful. Thalia, on the other hand, looked slightly bored, shifting her weight from foot to foot awkwardly and sipping punch out of a plastic cup. Luke had disappeared to get them drinks, and Jason and Frank had vanished somewhere along the crowded dance floor. Annabeth watched fondly as Percy and Leo danced together, bouncing like five-year-olds just a _little_ out of time with the beat.

She found her gaze on Percy again—her mind seemed to seek him out unconsciously. His hair had begun to wilt a little bit as he danced, and it barely brushed his forehead as he moved. Annabeth kind of wanted to run her hands through it.

"Earth to Annabeth," Piper panted as she came up, snapping her fingers in front of Annabeth's face. "What are you staring at?" She tried to follow Annabeth gaze.

"N-nothing," Annabeth said hurriedly—she didn't need Piper to have more reasons for her innuendos.

Piper rolled her eyes, still bouncing to the music. "I love these songs they're playing; I feel like I should go become best friends with that DJ. We have the _same_ taste in music."

Annabeth laughed. "Don't do that, I can't lose my best friend _now_."

"No one could ever replace you, babe," Piper beamed, spinning around on the toes of her heels so her hair flew out behind her in rippling waves.

Annabeth smiled softly at her. "Nor you, Queen McLean." After a pause she added, "Do your feet hurt?"

Piper laughed, shaking her head. "Oh my god, _so_ much."

"Thank goodness for that, I thought I was the only one," Annabeth grinned.

"We should have been smart and gotten flats like Hazel."

"True," she conceded, taking Piper's hands in hers. Piper squealed as they began spinning recklessly, and Annabeth laughed, feeling her heart overflow with happiness.

After a few more minutes, the song ended, fading out with an exaggerated cymbal crash. Annabeth slowed her dancing, panting and blowing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Hey, do you want to go get some punch? Luke should be back with it by now," she asked, finally able to talk quietly in the temporary lull between songs. The next song started up with a pulsing base line as Piper nodded, and they pushed their way through the crowd of sweaty teenagers to the punch table, where they found Luke talking to a pretty girl with long, dark hair and pink eyeliner. He looked up when they arrived, grinning more widely than usual and hurriedly silencing whatever conversation he'd been having with the girl.

"Oh, hey 'beth," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the top of her head somewhat sloppily. His breath smelled like alcohol, and Annabeth frowned at him, wondering where it had come from. "Hey, Drew, this is my girlfriend, Annabeth. The one I was… telling you about."

Drew sent Annabeth a tight smile that didn't quite reach her heavily made-up eyes, and Annabeth realized she recognized her vaguely from some of her classes. She was one of the girls who sat in the back of the classroom and gossiped loudly while Annabeth tried to get her homework done.

"Sorry I took so long, Drew and I… I mean, I got distracted," Luke continued, pointing back and forth between the two girls. He leaned in to Annabeth to whisper in her ear, and she winced again at the smell of alcohol on his breath. "Drew and I were talking. Did you know she brought some of the good stuff? I snuck some into your punch for you." He winked, and Annabeth nodded weakly, taking the small plastic glass of punch from his hands. He smiled and handed the other to Piper. "Listen, I'll catch up with you in a minute. Drew and I were discussing… a project we need to do for English, and we need another minute."

"'Kay," said Annabeth, grabbing Piper's hand and dragging her back onto the dance floor.

Piper smiled at her and bounced some more, taking another sip. She choked, and spit it back into the cup, bringing a hand to her mouth. "Crap, this tastes like vodka. What's in this?"

"Probably _is_ vodka," Annabeth said grimly, pulling the cup from Piper's hands and dropping it into the garbage after her own. "My _boyfriend_ spiked them with the alcohol Drew smuggled in."

Piper grimaced and wiped her mouth off. "Your _boyfriend_ needs to work on his priorities," she announced, adopting Annabeth's tone. Then she sighed, staring at Annabeth in disappointment. "I was actually _thirsty_. And we can't go back over to the table or Luke will know we didn't drink his stupid punch."

Annabeth nodded thoughtfully. "Let's go out to the water fountain for a minute, I could use a breath of air."

Piper agreed, and the two slipped out into the cool hallway, breathing a sigh of relief when they escaped the chaos of the gym. The pulsing music faded into the background as the two girls linked arms and skipped down the hall to the water fountain. They took turns drinking, leaning against the cool brick of the wall and chatting in between sips.

After a few minutes had passed, Annabeth and Piper both entered the gym again, their voices rising with the volume of the music. They padded back over to the punch table, but Luke was nowhere to be found, and Annabeth shrugged at Piper's questioning look.

"He probably went to go look for us on the floor. Come on, let's go find the others." She beckoned Piper to follow, and they pushed into the crowd again, shading their eyes from the swinging disco lights. Annabeth searched the crowd and found a few blond heads, but they weren't Luke, so she gave up after a minute, trailing behind Piper to find the rest of the crew.

Jason and Frank had joined Leo and Percy, and Rachel looked up in greeting as the two approached, sending them a warm smile that Annabeth returned a little shakily. She watched as Rachel elbowed Percy in the ribs. He winced, glancing up at Annabeth and Piper.

Annabeth grinned a little as Percy smiled at her and broke away from Rachel, pushing past Piper to wrap Annabeth in a hug. For a second, she froze in surprise, but his arms were firm around her shoulders, and he buried his face in her hair. She hugged him back tightly, and for a minute they just held each other, oblivious to the rest of the world.

It should have been weird, but it wasn't. Annabeth understood that Percy had never expected to get this far, get to a place where he could be a teenager and go to prom and just be… _happy._ She knew some of the others in their group knew Percy's and Annabeth's shared past, but none of them could have understood what passed through their tight embrace.

"Thanks," he murmured into her ear as he pulled away, and Annabeth nodded, catching a whiff of chlorine in his hair. There was a strange expression on Rachel's face as she rejoined her boyfriend, but it passed from her freckled face so quickly that Annabeth was sure she had imagined it.

She looked up to find Percy grinning brightly at her as he bounced on the balls of his feet. Annabeth grinned back, realizing suddenly that they hadn't talked much in the last couple weeks. She had missed his spirit; his constant happiness and crooked grin had become a regular luxury in her life. However broken down he had been—everything he'd gone through—Percy was still one of the most joyful people that Annabeth had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

A few moments later Leo and Calypso came over to join the group. Calypso sent Annabeth a small smile from where she was standing with Leo's arm around her shoulders, and Annabeth returned it reluctantly, confused by the knowing look on the other girl's face. She shook her head, brushing it off.

Thalia joined them after a minute, another cup of punch in her hand and a carefully crafted smirk on her face. Annabeth welcomed her by draping an arm around her shoulder and practically shoving her into the conversation. Although Thalia looked vaguely distressed about the whole situation, her grin was wide as she argued with Leo. Annabeth smiled; Thalia definitely would owe her twenty dollars by the end of the night.

For a few minutes, Annabeth forgot about Luke as the entire gang of them got wrapped up in a heated discussion about a movie that had come out a few weeks ago and everyone had somehow seen. They all had different opinions on the best part; Annabeth couldn't help but laugh as Piper scolded Jason for have the wrong opinion on a scene. Jason met her gaze and shrugged helplessly over Piper's shoulder. Annabeth winked at him; she and Jason weren't particularly close, but she knew him well enough to know he was an absolute angel to constantly put up with Piper's stubbornness.

Rachel Dare—or Rachel Elizabeth Dare, as she had noticed Percy teasingly calling his redheaded girlfriend—was cooler than Annabeth liked to admit. She fit relatively easily into their close-knit group, snorting and then covering her mouth when she laughed, and beaming at all of them through her myriad of freckles. Annabeth realized fleetingly that they had never actually had a real conversation before; she always managed to find a way to leave when Rachel sidled her way into the conversation and wrapped herself around Percy. Annabeth tried to rationalize the instinctive dislike she felt for the girl, but couldn't quite find a good reason.

After a few minutes, the others decided to go back onto the dance floor, and Annabeth peered over their heads in search of Luke. A few more blonds caught her eye, but none of them were Luke, so she waved the others onto the dance floor and took a seat on one of the benches that lined the edges of the gym. They were ragged and splintery, but they had been painted with clumpy silver paint for the occasion, and Annabeth dusted off the back of her dress before sitting down. She put her elbows on her knees and cupped her face in her hands, feeling somewhat dejected that her boyfriend had vanished on the most important night of the year.

Someone sat down beside her, and Annabeth instantly straightened, turning eagerly in the hopes that it would be her boyfriend.

But it wasn't.

Instead, it was another girl. She wore a long, purple dress with a gold waistband, and had dark hair braided into a regal bun with tiny gold leaves woven in. The girl sat straight and tall, her head held high, and Annabeth couldn't help but think that she looked like a queen. A name fluttered in the back of her head. Rianne?

No, she realized with a flash of remembrance. Reyna _._

As in, _Twelfth-Grade-Student-Body-President-Reyna._

Reyna turned to her. Her features were sharp and angular, making her expression look cold and calculating, but Annabeth noted the warmth behind her eyes. "Annabeth, right?"

"Um," Annabeth said intelligently. "Yeah. I mean, yes. Reyna, correct?"

Reyna nodded, a tiny smile dancing at her prim lips. "That would be me."

"So." Annabeth couldn't quite think of what to say. Or really any reason that student-president Reyna should be sitting beside her, for that matter. So she went with the obvious. "Um, what gives me the honour?"

Reyna sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the bench. "There's actually something I needed to talk to you about? If that's alright," she added hastily, and Annabeth noticed that she looked vaguely nervous. She couldn't imagine why.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and pointed to herself. " _Me_? You sure you have the right person?"

Reyna smiled, and Annabeth couldn't shake the feeling that she was in the presence of royalty. "Of course. Annabeth Chase. You're best friends with Thalia Grace, correct?"

Annabeth nodded with an easy grin. "Oh, you know Thalia?"

Reyna hummed slightly. "Not as well as I'd like to."

Annabeth cocked her head, curious, and Reyna sighed, her icy expression melting into something a bit more vulnerable. "Yeah, okay, so. About that. I actually—I came over here to ask you what you would think of me asking your friend out."

Annabeth gaped. "You want to ask _Thalia_ out?"

Reyna huffed, but she still looked wary. "I'm aware that you guys are really close, and I thought it would probably be best if I asked you first just because… well, I don't know what Thalia likes, and… what?"

She cut herself off at the grin that had stretched widely across Annabeth's features, and Annabeth brought a hand to her mouth to cover it. "Well, I'm pretty sure she would like _you_ , that's for sure."

A flush crept across Reyna's olive cheekbones. Annabeth almost got the feeling that this was just about as flustered as Reyna ever got as the other girl shifted uncomfortably, not making eye contact. "Yes, well. Thank you. I just… I'm not sure how to go for it. I'm not—I've never really dated much, but I've talked to Thalia a few times, and she's just—well. The reason I wanted to talk to you was because I feel like—like Thalia and I have some sort of connection already?" She flushed, looking away. "I'm sorry, I know that sounds moronic. Kind of like you and Percy Jackson, though. Just meant to be."

Annabeth nearly fell off the bench. "Wait, you think— _Percy?_ "

It was Reyna's turn to raise a sculpted eyebrow at the stunned expression on Annabeth's face. "So you _aren't_ in a relationship with Percy Jackson?"

"I…" Flustered, Annabeth tried to run her fingers through her hair before remembering Piper's admonished _now, don't touch your hair tonight!_ She sheepishly retracted her fingers from the tangle as she faced Reyna again. "No, we're not. I mean, I'm not. He's with Rachel Elizabeth Dare and I'm dating…" She glanced around, her voice trailing off. "Luke Castellan."

"Seriously?" Reyna leaned in, looking intrigued. " _That_ asshole? Funny, I really thought you were with Percy Jackson."

"He's not an…" Annabeth started in Luke's defence, but then shook her head. It _was_ kind of the truth sometimes. "No, Percy and I are friends, but we're not… we've _never_ been a thing."

Reyna tucked a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Interesting. You should be." The flicker of vulnerability crept onto her face again as she changed the subject. "So, Thalia?"

"Oh, yeah!" Annabeth nodded eagerly, the thoughts of Percy chased from her mind with relief. "Totally. Go for it."

"Yes, but… how?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Just like… be blunt. Thalia doesn't really do subtle. If you're cool about it, I think she'll say yes."

Reyna considered this information. "That—that sounds alright. I should be able to do this."

"You can do this," Annabeth encouraged, grinning.

"Alright." Reyna stood up and carefully brushed off the front of her royal-purple dress, then gave Annabeth a little mock salute. "Thank you for your help, Agent Chase."

Annabeth ducked her head with a grin. "Glad to be of assistance, President Reyna."

Reyna gave her a rare smile and disappeared into the swarm of people on the dance floor. Annabeth watched her long purple tail flick out of sight with a smile.

Thalia was _so_ going to owe her that twenty bucks.

Annabeth's feeling of accomplishment faded quickly, and she glanced around her, trying to remember whatever it was she had misplaced that was making her heart heavy.

Then she remembered.

 _Luke_.

Where was her boyfriend? He had been missing for a good forty-five minutes or so, and Annabeth was really starting to get anxious. This wasn't supposed to happen at prom.

How do you lose a boyfriend, of all things?

With a sigh, Annabeth scrambled to her feet and straightened the front of her dress before pushing into the chaos in search of her friends. She found Piper within a few minutes, dancing vigorously with Jason by her side. Piper gave her a welcoming grin and wrapped her arms around Annabeth's neck.

"Hey, did you ever find Luke?" she asked, blowing fruity breath into Annabeth's face.

"No," said Annabeth, slow-dancing with Piper even though the song blaring behind them was anything but slow. "But Reyna did come and talk to me, which is new."

Piper raised her eyebrows. " _Reyna?_ Like, as in—"

"Student-Body-President-Reyna, yup."

"Damn. What did she want?"

"Uh, she wanted to ask Thalia out actually."

"Oh my god, no kidding!" Piper squeaked into Annabeth ear, and she winced. "That is so cute! Oh gosh, I ship it so hard, I can't _even_." She dropped her arms from Annabeth's shoulders and turned to her boyfriend. "Jason, you'll never believe what—" but Annabeth cut her off, tapping her shoulder and shaking her head vigorously. She wasn't sure if the news was supposed to be public knowledge yet, but she knew Piper could keep the secret, if a bit reluctantly.

Piper got the hint and continued her train of thought weakly. "—what didn't happen."

Jason looked intrigued. " _What_ didn't happen?"

"Um," said Piper peevishly. "Nothing."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

Piper turned to her again, running her fingers through the ringlet that had fallen out of Annabeth's hairdo. "Annabeth, can you be a darling and find Hazel for me? I'll catch up in a sec."

Annabeth nodded and patted Piper's head as she left. She bumped shoulders with a few people as she waded through the crowd, searching for Hazel's thick cinnamon curls.

She caught sight of them in a corner, bristling with anger. Hazel was standing and facing a tall scrawny boy with a cup of punch in his hands, his face red as he yelled. He had scraggly, pale blond hair and watery blue eyes, and Hazel had her hands clenched tightly and her face scrunched in obvious anger at the sight of him. Annabeth couldn't help but think that he looked like a less attractive version of Jason.

"—violating the code of conduct," the boy was saying in a loud, haughty voice. He had his chin tipped up like he thought he was important, and he looked down at Hazel condescendingly as he spoke. "There are not supposed to be any heavy displays of public affection during the prom. _I'm_ on the committee, and I can determine that this is _extremely_ inappropriate."

"They were just _holding hands_!" Hazel exploded in a loud, flustered voice. " _Holding hands_ , Octavian. They weren't like making out or—"

"Violating the code of conduct, Hazel," said the boy, Octavian. Annabeth recognized him now; he had run for student president opposed to Reyna. His campaign had been weak and full of holes, as well as somewhat offensive; if Annabeth remembered correctly, he'd gotten quite huffy when he lost by a landslide.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Annabeth asked, pushing her way into the conversation and standing defensively beside her friend.

Hazel pushed past her, still alight with anger. "This _asshole_ won't be a decent human and let these guys dance at their prom! They were _holding hands_ , Octavian! What's not to understand?" It was very shocking language for Hazel, and Annabeth blinked while her friend gestured to a couple of boys that were standing beside her; Annabeth hadn't noticed them earlier, her attention drawn to Hazel and Octavian's argument. They both looked somewhat awkward, and one of them gave Annabeth a little half wave which she returned with a smile.

Octavian looked at the two boys uncomfortably. "Yes. Well." He leaned in close to Annabeth and Hazel like he was about to tell them a horrible secret. "They're both _boys._ "

Hazel scoffed, and turned to the two boys. "Hey Neeks, Will, did anyone ever tell you that you're _both boys?_ " she asked, her eyes wide and innocent.

The boys looked at each other with loud gasps of shock, and Annabeth couldn't help but snort in laughter at their blatant sarcasm.

"You can't tell me you two _actually_ support this," Octavian gaped, looking a bit like a dead fish.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Get your homophobic ass out of here, Octavian. Literally no one cares what you have to say. Didn't your _mummy_ ever tell you that _if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?_ "

Hazel smirked, her normally sweet face still a little vicious, and flicked her hand as if to tell Octavian to leave. Octavian looked outraged, and his nostrils flared as his hand tightened around his cup.

"Fine," he said, his expression murderous. "I'll have you know that I will be notifying an authority, so if that makes any difference to _you two_ —" he whirled around to face the two boys, who looked skeptical, "—I would consider re-evaluating my life decisions."

"Take your own advice, Octavian," hissed Hazel, and he clenched his jaw.

He turned his nose up, and began to walk away, his eyes still on them. As he turned, Octavian's arm jerked out and he threw his entire cup of punch onto Hazel's dress.

"Wow, _that's_ mature," the darker-haired boy snarled, grabbing a napkin.

Hazel let out a squeaking gasp, lifting her arms up from her dress. Annabeth took a step towards Octavian, her fist clenched, but Hazel grabbed her arm, pulling her back with a shake of her head. Annabeth satisfied herself with giving Octavian her best death stare as he walked away, smirking.

"Ugh!" Hazel exclaimed, shaking her arms. "That _idiot."_

Annabeth nodded in agreement, and then turned to survey the two boys who were still beside them. "So, um. Care to introduce me to your friends, Hazel?"

"Oh," Hazel said, surprised. "Yeah, of course. Um, the one cleaning off my dress currently is Nico, my half-brother, and this is—"

"Hang on." Annabeth lifted her hand. "Your _half-brother?_ "

"Yes, of course," said Hazel brightly. "Oh, did I not tell you? Yeah, we found out a couple months ago that my dad—he left when I was little—had another kid. Also, that he happened to go my school. Anyways, this is Nico, and this is his boyfriend, Will."

Will sent Annabeth a wide, easy grin, which she returned. Nico had dark, ruffled hair and a complexion that made Annabeth think he didn't get out in the sun much, and Will was very tan with lots of tiny freckles and hair the colour of sunshine. Their fingers interlaced again, and Annabeth smothered her grin.

Piper appeared at that moment from the crowd, and blinked in shock at the scene in front of her. Hazel still had her arms held straight out, and there were little droplets of red punch dripping down the front of her dress that Nico hadn't finished drying. She grinned at Piper. "Hi!"

Piper looked a bit dazed. "Um. What—what happened _here_?"

Annabeth patted the top of Hazel's head. "Our sweet Hazel got into a fight defending her brother and Octavian threw punch on her."

Piper blinked. "You have a brother?" she asked. She studied Nico for a minute, and then turned back to Hazel. "He's white."

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed," Nico deadpanned, and Annabeth snorted again. She had the feeling she and Nico were going to get along marvellously.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "My _half_ -brother, Piper. Come on, I'll explain everything in a second." She wrapped her arms around Nico's neck and kissed him on the cheek, and then did the same to Will. They both smiled fondly and hugged her. "Have fun dancing, boys!" she chirped, and then grabbed Piper's arm to gently guide her away.

"What—?"

"Shut up, we'll explain," Hazel said. "First, help me get this punch off my dress." She dragged Piper out through the doors of the gym and into the hall, and Annabeth jogged along behind them, filling in the gaps as Hazel repeated what had happened a few minutes earlier in her own quirky way.

"What an _asshole!"_ Piper scoffed after Hazel had finished. "Doesn't deserve to be on this planet. We should make his life miserable."

"We should," Annabeth agreed. "But we'll save it for another day." She put her hands on Piper's shoulders, steering her towards the bathroom.

They pushed through the bathroom door, still chattering, and then froze as a group, blinking at the sight in front of them.

Thalia was pushed up against the wall, kissing none other than Student-Body-President-Reyna. The two broke apart hastily as the door opened and turned to face the other girls.

Thalia looked slightly sheepish, but proud of herself, and Reyna simply raised her eyebrows at Annabeth as if to say thanks.

Hazel squeaked loudly and smacked her hands over her eyes. She spun around quickly, crashing into the sinks and then hurrying out the door. Annabeth and Piper exchanged slow grins.

"Um," said Thalia, still smirking. "Occupied?"

"Yeah," said Piper slowly, her grin too wide for her face. "Of course Thals. We—we'll leave you to it." She turned on her heel, sent the girls a wink, and disappeared through the door. Annabeth beamed at them for a second longer.

"Um, Annabeth?" Thalia prompted with a grin. "Unless you're planning to stay for the show."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling. "Okay, Thals. I'm leaving." She nodded as seriously as she could to the other girl. "Reyna." Annabeth walked slowly to the door after Piper, and turned to call over her shoulder at the last minute, "You owe me twenty bucks, Grace!"

Thalia turned red and muttered something along the lines of "Yeah, yeah, whatever," as Annabeth left.

"You _guys_ ," Hazel squeaked. "Why didn't you leave right away, that was _so awkward._ " She covered her eyes with her hands again.

Annabeth laughed, wrapping Hazel in a hug. "Sweet, innocent Hazel. Let's take you to the bathroom upstairs and clean you up."

The three of them snuck up the stairs to the top floor, shushing each other and laughing, unsure if they were actually supposed to leave the gym. They pushed their way into the girl's bathroom, which thankfully had none of their friends making out in it. Annabeth pulled a wad a paper out of the dispenser and soaked it under the sink, and they all spent a few minutes dabbing at Hazel's dress to get the last drops of red out. Luckily, it didn't show much against the black skirt, and washed easily off the sheer gold of the bodice. A few minutes later they were able to slip back downstairs and ease their way into the gym.

Piper and Hazel disappeared into the masses to find their dates, and Annabeth craned her neck to peer over the heads that filled the dance floor. There was still no sign of Luke anywhere, and with a sigh, she looked at her feet and shuffled over to the back wall behind the punch table, sitting down on another clumsily painted bench. She shifted so that she was almost completely hidden by a plant, and buried her head in her hands.

This wasn't going according to plan.

She found a loose string on her dress, and played with it idly, her mind swimming with gloom. And then, as if to mock her, the slow songs began. Something soft and sweet was playing, and all the couples were dancing, with their arms around each other and their heads on each other's shoulders. She caught a glimpse of Piper's long pink dress, her brown arms wrapped around Jason's neck; then saw Hazel, who was laughing with her feet on top of Frank's so that she didn't have to move at all. She looked like a little fairy beside Frank's towering form. Calypso and Leo were in the corner, and she was laughing at one of his jokes, her pretty eyes filled with love.

They all looked so happy.

Annabeth wiped her eye. _Dammit._

"Oh I like this song. Dance with me, m'lady?" she heard a familiar voice by the punch table ask, and she peeked up through her plant with curiosity. It was Percy, holding his hand out to Rachel with a smile. Annabeth watched as Rachel grinned back and took his hand.

Then something bizarre happened.

Rachel's eyes darted to where Annabeth was sitting, and Annabeth saw a flicker of concern in her expression. She quickly looked down at her lap, and continued fidgeting with her string so Rachel wouldn't know that she was watching.

"Actually," she heard Rachel say, and she tried to listen harder without being too conspicuous, "I don't think I can right now, Perce. My feet are _really_ hurting. Why don't you ask Annabeth—"

Annabeth's head snapped up, and she met eyes with Rachel Elizabeth Dare through the green leaved of the plant. Rachel's emerald green eyes were intense and knowing, and she was staring at Annabeth unblinkingly. Annabeth shivered.

"—to dance," Rachel continued softly, without taking her eyes off Annabeth. "She looks lonely."

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Percy scratch his head in confusion, not realizing the intense staring contest that was going on right beside him. Annabeth couldn't move her gaze. She shook her head very slightly at Rachel. _What are you doing?_

Rachel gave her a little smile and looked away.

Annabeth's gaze fell back to her lap.

And then Percy was standing in front of her, holding out his hand and grinning, and Annabeth couldn't prevent herself from grinning back.

 _Her knight in shining armour._

"You want to dance?" he asked, and Annabeth smiled softly at him before taking his hand, and she let him pull her to her feet and lead her onto the dance floor.

Somewhat awkwardly, she draped her arms around Percy's neck as his arms circled her waist, and they started to sway. His eyes were very green under lights, Annabeth noted, closer to Rachel's emerald to their usual sea-green.

"So," said Percy, his voice just loud enough for her to hear. "How's your night going?"

Annabeth laughed, trying to sort through her mind enough to answer. "It's been… interesting."

"Good interesting or bad interesting?" Percy asked, and Annabeth realized with a start that they were sort of flirting.

"A bit of both, I think," she said, relaxing into his arms a little more and swaying unconsciously to the music.

Percy looked around. "What happened to your boyfriend? Shouldn't you be dancing with him?"

Annabeth felt her face crumple slightly, but she tried to cover it with a scoff. "I don't know, actually. What about your girlfriend, dork? I know for a fact that she's right by the punch table."

"She told me to—that is, she didn't want to dance," stumbled Percy. "Her feet hurt."

"Ah," said Annabeth, and then they were silent, swaying comfortably to the music. She sighed, realizing how comfortable she was in her friend's arms, how warm and soft Percy was. She put her head on his shoulder, hoping she wasn't crossing any boundaries as she breathed in his scent of sweat and chlorine.

So maybe her friends weren't a hundred percent wrong.

 _Maybe…_

The door banged opened.

Percy and Annabeth, who had drifted so they were standing right next to the door, both jumped, and Annabeth jerked her head up so fast she almost smacked Percy in the chin. He clutched her around the waist to stop her from tumbling over.

One of the teachers stormed in, her round face as red as a beet. She had her fingers around a boy's ear as she dragged him in, and a sullen girl followed in afterwards, blowing a strand of dark hair out of her face.

"Banned!" the teacher was saying. "Banned for life from this prom and any other future school events. I must request that both of you leave the premises immediately."

Annabeth gasped, her fingernails digging into Percy's back. He still had her arms wrapped protectively around her and Annabeth was thankful for that; she felt like she might fall over otherwise.

It was _Luke_.

Luke, with his perfect blond hair standing up, and his starched jacket wrinkled over his arm. His shirt was buttoned up wrong, and the lipstick stains on his mouth were most definitely not his.

Behind him, Drew—it was Drew from the punch table, _dammit_ —smirked cockily at Annabeth and flipped her silky hair before wiping her mouth off on the back of her hand and strutting out of her the gym. Annabeth realized her mouth was open, and she shut it.

" _Luke,"_ she said weakly.

He tried to straighten his tie, which was draped over her his shoulders, and lifted his chin to look haughtily at Annabeth.

"Annabeth."

"Luke, I… oh, no. No, you didn't. Luke, you _didn't._ " Her voice wobbled, and she smacked a hand over her mouth to steady it.

Luke looked around with wide eyes, like he was trying to find an escape. His eyes settled on Percy. "A bit rich coming from you, _Annabeth_. I disappear for a few minutes and I come back to find you wrapped around another man. Don't be a bitch."

Annabeth realized suddenly she was still clutching at Percy, and she took a step back. Percy stepped forwards, but Annabeth grabbed his wrist, shaking her head. She had suddenly realized how much taller Percy was compared to Luke. He was a good two or three inches taller, which was new. He had always been shorter than her boyfriend.

Luke scoffed at the pair of them. "Look at that. Couldn't keep it in your pants, Chase?"

Annabeth took a step towards him, nostrils flaring. "Don't you _dare_ try and compare us, Luke. Don't you even start. Percy and I are _friends_. Nothing more than friends _,_ Luke, _nothing more_ , goddammit." The backs of her eyes were stinging, but Annabeth tried her best to push it down. "You were gone for _hours_. You left me all alone and I just sat on the side of the room doing nothing, you—I was sharing a dance. A dance with a _friend._ "

Beside her, Percy shifted uncomfortably, and Luke scoffed again, deciding not to try to look Annabeth in the eyes. He crossed his arms and looked away, and Annabeth caught a glimpse of a hickey forming on his neck. She clenched her fists.

"No," said Luke. "No, I don't believe that. You two—" he pointed at the pair of them, "You two are anything but friendly. No, Annabeth. Here's what I think: I only cheated on you because you don't love me. You've _never_ loved me."

Annabeth sucked in a breath. The words stirred something in the back of her mind, a blurry discussion or confession. The something in her mind clicked, and she suddenly remembered the last few minutes before she'd fallen asleep the night before, the drunken confession to Piper, the words that had passed her lips…

"Luke…" she began helplessly, then stopped.

"What, Annabeth? You do love me?"

"I…" Annabeth brought her hands up to her temples, feel her nails dent into her face. She tried to take a deep breath, and Luke grabbed her shoulders roughly. Beside her she felt Percy straighten defensively, ready to intervene if needed, and she felt grateful for his presence.

"Tell me you love me, Annabeth, and I'll admit that I was wrong. Please. I'll do anything to make it up to you if you say it. I'll give you anything in the world. I can fix this, Annabeth, please." For once, his eyes were pleading, helpless; not the brash confidence that usually filled them.

"Luke," she said, choking on a sob, because her boyfriend _cheated_ on her, and now… and now _this?_ "I can't. I just…"

Luke shook her shoulders, and Annabeth felt tears leap to her eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat. He looked so desperate.

But her mind was swimming with images, of more broken promises, of lies, of loss. And Luke was in the centre of it all, kissing Drew, on his phone, lying to her again and _again_ about his intentions and his actions and everything in between. And she knew she could never do it.

"Annabeth. Please just… say it. Say you love me."

Annabeth swallowed again, and shook her head slowly, because _dammit,_ she was stronger than this. Better than this boy who thought himself to be a man, who used others to make himself feel better. "No," she said softly, but her voice was growing louder with every word. "No, I can't, Luke. Not like this. Never like this." She yanked her shoulders out of his bruising grasp and stumbled away, marching for the door. Right before she left, she paused, and turned back to face him. "We're done, Luke. I'm sorry."

And with that, she slammed through the doors and out into the hall, oblivious to the faces she left behind.

She didn't see Luke's face crumple in defeat and regret, or Percy with uncontrollable, almost frightening fury in his eyes. She didn't Piper across the gym, standing on a bench to watch the scene, her expression somewhere in between absolute rage and heartbroken sympathy. She didn't see Hazel biting her lip with tears dancing in her eyes, or the way Leo's fist was clenched as he watched the door slam. She didn't see Thalia, with her lipstick stains and mussed hair, staring sorrowfully at the entrance to the gym like she'd expected it all along.

She didn't even see Rachel Elizabeth Dare's sudden, gasping look of wide-eyed realization.

Annabeth ran down the corridor. Tears were forming in her eyes, and this time, she didn't try to swallow them back. She just tried to run faster. Her heel landed in the wrong place and she went sprawling to the ground, her ankle turning.

The first tears started to fall, spattering onto her dress.

She undid her shoes and pulled them off, scrambling onto her feet again and hobbling down the rest of the hallways until she reached the door. She pushed her way through, out into the rain she'd forgotten was falling. After practically falling down the stairs, she sprinted out onto the pavement, warm spring rain pelting her skin.

All of a sudden Annabeth realized the parallel, running out into the rain from a dance without shoes, the same as she'd done with Piper three years earlier at their middle school dance. But then, it had been with adrenaline in her veins and joy in her heart. Now she just wanted to crumble, wanted nothing more than to forget the events of the past hour. She gave a little sob at the realization.

Annabeth let out another choking sob, letting the rain pour down onto her cheeks and down to stain her dress with its tiny droplets. Her elaborate hair was falling down, soaked and dripping, and when she ran the back of one of her hands across her eyes, it was smeared with makeup.

Shoes in hand and holding the hem of her ruined dress up so she could walk, Annabeth started down the road, barefoot with tears dripping down her cheeks alongside the rain.

"Annabeth! Annabeth, _wait!_ "

She froze.

There was someone calling her name, running up behind her with eager steps. She winced, screwing her eyes shut. There was no way in hell she wanted to talk to anyone at a time like this.

But she turned to face the voice. It was Rachel Elizabeth Dare, with her crazy curls flying out behind her, running to greet Annabeth. The heavy rain was already sliding down the jewels on her chest and soaking into the soft teal of her skirt. It pooled in her curls and dripped down her cheeks, and Annabeth couldn't help but wonder if all those drops on Rachel's freckled face were really rain.

For a minute, Rachel stopped to catch her breath, and the two girls stared at each other, standing together in the pouring rain. They were completely different, with completely different problems and lives.

And yet in that moment they were exactly the same.

"I'm sorry," Rachel panted finally, straightening, and Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "I'm so, so sorry Annabeth. I never should have…" she groaned in frustration. "I'm sorry, I've been… I've been so selfish. More selfish that you could ever imagine, Annabeth." Rachel sighed, looking up at the sky and letting the raindrops pour down her face, her elegant makeup smearing down her cheeks. "I'm done. I'm done being selfish, and I'm done taking what really belonged to someone else in the first place. I'm just—I'm _done_."

Annabeth blinked at her in bewilderment, watching the tears pool in Rachel's eyes, knowing that she was a mirror image of the redhead.

"I don't—" she started brokenly. "I don't _understand._ "

Rachel looked at her, her eyes a little heartbroken, a little sad, but still so _knowing_ , and she smiled softly. "You will, Annabeth. You'll understand soon. I'll make sure of it."

Annabeth blinked at Rachel, her voice barely above a whisper. "Okay."

Rachel hesitated, and then rushed forwards and wrapped her arms around Annabeth's neck. "I'm so sorry," she said again, and Annabeth froze before hugging her back.

They stood there for a minute, rain dancing around them, hugging each other. They barely knew each other, had spent _so little_ time together, but Annabeth squeezed Rachel tightly anyway, because somehow she _knew_ exactly what Annabeth needed right then. Because she was _there_. Right where she needed to be.

"Good luck," choked Rachel's quiet voice in her ear.

And then she was gone. Annabeth stood in stunned silence for a minute, watching as the soaking silk of Rachel's dress disappeared inside the door.

And with the rain still pouring down around her and tears on her cheeks, Annabeth started her heavy trek home.

* * *

 **A/N: So um. Sorry this is so long?**

 **Do long chapters make you guys happy or scare you I kind of want to know.**

 **ANYWAys. LUKABETH DEAD. THEYNA. SOLANGELO. ALL THE STUFFS. THIS WAS A BIG CHAPTER OKAY I WORKED SUPER HARD ON IT AND I HOPE YOU LOVED IT.**

 **Okay so. This was a mega important chapter that I've been planning for literal months and months, and I literally could not stop writing it because it just was all so FUN to get it out on paper! Of course I couldn't have done it without my pal Rachel who edited like a crazy person and sent me non-stop pictures of dress and hair and shoes and prom stuff on pin so that we could pick out which ones went with the characters. (BTW they're all on the Childhood pinterest board, (link in my profile).** **It's manned by me, Rachel (TheWritingManiac) and Mia (herecomesthepun). We some other story boards too that you can check out and if you find any good aesthetic pins feel free to send them to us.)**

 **Anyways that is a wrap and pLEASE REVIEW BECAUSE I WORKED HARD ON THIS ALSO THERE IS MORE PERCABETH COMING SOON *wink***

 **-GGW**


	28. Colours of Sunset

_"_ _You're in love with her, you know."_

 _"_ _What_? _Since when_? _"_

 _"_ _Since forever. You always have been. That's why I'm breaking up with you."_

* * *

Percy rang the doorbell for the third time, and stomped his rain boots so that the droplets of rainwater leftover from the night before dripped down on to the welcome mat. He had a blue plastic bag clutched in one hand and a closed umbrella in the other, and he tapped the umbrella impatiently on the ground as he waited for the door to open. The handles of the bag were starting to stretch under the weight of their contents, and Percy had just reached up to ring the doorbell a fourth time when the door swung open.

It was Annabeth, standing with a blanket clutched in her arms and looking so much like a lost child that Percy wanted to drop the entire contents of his arms and wrap her in a hug. She had never taken off the makeup of the night before, and the mascara and dark eyeliner she had been wearing was smudged all around her eyes, so that she looked a bit like a racoon. She wasn't wearing anything other than a pair of tiny Adidas shorts and tank top, topped with a stained, oversized sweatshirt. Percy swallowed, keeping his eyes on her tear-streaked face.

He held up his bag weakly. "I, uh. I brought ice cream."

The corners of Annabeth's mouth twitched up, wobbling slightly. Then she blinked twice, and held out her arms like she wanted a hug.

Percy didn't hesitate.

Annabeth was soft and warm in his arms. She smelled like hairspray and sweat and sleep; her hair was stiff and crunchy with leftover hairspray and Percy could feel it against his cheek it as she rested her head against his neck. He absently brushed a couple sticky strands out of her eyes and she sighed.

It sounded like a muffled sob. Percy felt a pang somewhere in his chest, and Rachel's parting words rang in his ears.

They weren't true. She _couldn't_ be right.

Annabeth pulled away and looked up at him, her grey eyes bright with tears. She ran her hand across her face, smearing more eyeshadow down her cheek, and gave Percy a tiny, genuine smile.

"I was just—I was just watching TV," she said, her voice catching a little. "Do you… want to come in?"

Somehow, Percy had taken her hand in his, and it was small and soft. He didn't plan on letting go.

"We should close the door," he smiled, pulling it shut behind him and following her into the house. There was an inkling of suspicion in his chest, and there were words tingling in the back of his mind. But it wasn't like they were _true._

"So, your family not home?" asked Percy, trying to make small talk though it seemed like a bizarre thing to do with one of his best friends.

Annabeth shook her head as she led him down the hallway. "No, my dad's at work and Helen and the boys are at soccer, or—I don't know, basketball, or some other stupid sport practice they couldn't miss. They won't be back until later."

The entered the living room, and he glanced around, raising an eyebrow at the scene in front of him. There were tissues all over the couch and the floor, and crumbs falling off of several dirty plates littered across the room. He paused to look over at the TV, which was blaring loudly. He could just make out the cast of _Supernatural,_ and he had to smile. Someone onscreen was dying and someone else was screaming, and there was blood everywhere. Annabeth was certainly unique in her choice of breakup movies.

Her cheeks flushed pink and she grabbed the remote, muting the television so that the people on the screen continued to move in silence. She picked up some of the tissues and tried pointlessly to wipe some of the crumbs off the couch.

Percy grabbed her arm to stop her. "Annabeth. It's okay. Don't bother. Let's just…" he held up his bag, unsure of what else to do. "Eat ice cream. Watch something violent. We're in the same boat here."

She blinked owlishly at him. "We are?"

"Yeah, of course." Percy frowned. "Wait, you've heard, haven't you?"

Annabeth wiped some crumbs off a pillow and sat down on the couch, pulling her knees up underneath her and wrapping a blanket around her lap. She patted the couch beside her. "Heard what?"

Percy sat down, and opened his bag of ice cream so that he wouldn't have to look at her when he said it. It wasn't like he was ridiculously sad or anything—surprisingly, he was more okay than he thought he would be. But still—it hurt. "Huh," he said, huffing out a laugh and not meeting Annabeth's eyes as he opened a container. "You're friends with the biggest gossips in the school and you still don't know one of the juiciest bits of the evening."

Percy straightened, running out of ways to stall. Annabeth was staring at him with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and he rushed on to explain. "Rachel. She, uh. She broke up with me last night. Right after you left. She ran out of the gym just a couple minutes after you did, and—what?"

Annabeth was blinking at him with wide eyes, like she had just realized something important. She flushed, almost guilty, shaking her head and taking Percy's hand in her lap. "Nothing, Perce. I—I'm so sorry about Rachel. That's cruel. I just… she didn't… it wasn't because of me, was it? I don't want to—"

" _No!_ " Percy assured her too quickly, and she frowned. "I mean, no not at all she just… well, I guess maybe she realized from your whole—I mean, she told that me that she couldn't… do it anymore. She realized we weren't, I don't know, _meant to be_."

Annabeth didn't look quite satisfied, and with her piercing gaze breaking into his mind, Percy had to push back the flood of memories from the night before so that she couldn't see it in his face.

He wasn't completely _lying_ ; he just wasn't telling Annabeth the whole truth.

"Are you sure you're okay, Percy?" she asked, eyes soft and sympathetic as she squeezed his hand almost unconsciously. "I mean; I know you loved Rachel."

"Yeah…" Percy wondered if that was true, and then shook his head, pulling his hand out of her grasp to touch her cheek. "But look at you. All concerned about me when…"

Annabeth looked at him with a glowing sadness in her face, and Percy didn't want to finish his sentence in the fear that she would break. "When _what_ , Percy?" she murmured sadly. His fingers were still dancing over her cheekbones, and she looked vaguely uncomfortable, so Percy dropped his hand.

"You know what, Annabeth."

She was silent for a minute, looking at her lap and playing with the frayed edge of her tattered blanket. Finally, she looked up at Percy. "Yes, I do." She looked away again, and her eyes caught the edge of her phone, which had lit up, buzzing. "I should really check that. I know… I know Luke has been calling all day, and…"

"No!" yelled Percy, picking up the phone before she could reach for it and chucking it across the room. Annabeth made a sound of indignation, but Percy didn't care. "No, Annabeth," he continued, and she glared at him. "You don't owe that bastard anything. Not a text, _nothing_. Just—just leave it."

Annabeth glared at him for a second more, then dropped her gaze. "You're right. He doesn't deserve it."

"He doesn't deserve _anything_."

"Yeah," she agreed listlessly. "Though it might have been Piper. Again. She tried calling this morning a couple times—Hazel and Thalia, too." She let out a short laugh. "I don't even want to see how many texts have come through since I turned my phone off."

"Then why aren't they here?" Percy asked, puzzled. He knew how close Annabeth was with her friends, especially Piper.

She looked down, twisting her hands. "I told them not to come," she mumbled, refusing to meet Percy's eyes.

" _Annabeth,_ " he chided gently. "You shouldn't—you can't just push your friends away. They love you, okay? They just want to help."

"I know." She took a deep breath. "I know, it's just—I just needed some time, you know? They're all in these happy relationships and then there's me, and I just—" she gestured unsurely. "Wanted to be alone."

Percy fleetingly wondered who Thalia could be in a relationship with; last he remembered, she was single and proud of it. "I can go, if you want?" he offered weakly.

"No!" Annabeth burst out, her eyes snapping us to his. "No, don't leave," she added quietly. "Stay with me. Please?"

Percy nodded, relief flooding his heart.

Annabeth avoided his glance, choosing instead to look back at the screen, where something was exploding in a mass of fire and debris. "Why are you here, Percy?"

Percy considered the answer, before he finally decided on the truth—or most of it. "Because we're supposed to be _friends,_ Annabeth. This is what friends _do._ "

"Compare breakups?"

"No, doofus. Recover. Eat ice cream. Watch people die in fiery explosions. Pretend we don't care about the things we do." He picked his bag up off the floor and offered it to her hopefully. "Here, I bought one of every kind they had in the store. Pick one, and we can put the rest in the freezer."

Annabeth gave a little cough that sounded like a sob and wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve. She reached into the bag and rummaged around until she pulled out a slightly melting pint of mint-chocolate-chip. Percy smiled, remembering how that had always been her favorite, even when they were kids. "We're going to need spoons."

They settled on the couch like that a few minutes later, side by side and covered in blankets with tubs of ice cream clasped in their hands. Annabeth's mint-chocolate-chip was dripping down off the spoon and running down her hand, and Percy was devouring a tub of rocky road. They spent the day losing themselves in an array of TV shows and movies, and seeing how many tubs of ice cream they could finish without getting sick.

The love scenes made Annabeth sad and Percy uncomfortable, so they skipped over them and ended up watching whatever they could find that was mindless and easy. Percy's head ended up in Annabeth's lap and her fingers were running absently through his hair. It felt good, _right_ , and all of a sudden, Percy couldn't stop the flow of memories from the night before from flooding through his brain.

He'd watched Annabeth run from the room, watched Luke start after her and then change his mind. He was still standing watching after her when Rachel came over and took him arm, looking up his face with a sadness Percy didn't understand.

"We have to talk, Percy," she had said, and her voice wobbled. She had blinked up at him, her green eyes fierce.

Percy had felt his stomach twist instantly with anxiety; those were words no one ever wanted to hear. "We do?"

Rachel nodded sadly, looking at Percy like he was a sick puppy. "It's about Annabeth."

Percy had raised an eyebrow, and Rachel sighed, looking down at the floor.

"You're in love with her, you know," she'd told him, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, like everyone in the room knew it. Like she had known it forever and never voiced it.

 _"_ _What?"_ It took Percy a minute to understand what she was saying. It didn't make sense. It wasn't _true_. He opened his mouth to contradict her harshly, but all that came out was "Since _when_?"

Rachel's expression was sad and resigned, and Percy got the impression she had always known that it would come to this. "Since—forever, Percy. You always have been." She paused, and Percy wondered what on earth he was going to do with this information. "That's why I'm breaking up with you."

That had been the real shock.

Rachel, who had always been there.

Rachel, who had never been jealous or possessive. Just loving and far more caring than he deserved.

Rachel was breaking up with him.

And it was all because of Annabeth.

Because apparently, Percy was in love with Annabeth. But he _wasn't_ in love with Annabeth, was he? He couldn't possibly be. Not after everything they had gone through. Not after all the work that had gone into patching their shattered friendship, into picking up the pieces of their lives and healing, together.

Rachel had laughed slightly, her smile weak and watery. She had patted his arm with one of her manicured hands, looking imploringly into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Percy. You know I love you, I do. Just… not in the way you deserve. You're my best friend, Percy, but it's not _enough_. It's just—it's not meant to be. Look, maybe…" she'd sighed, again, looking down at her toes. "Maybe nothing will happen for you right away. Maybe this makes me seem like a bad person but—" she looked up again suddenly, her expression full of desperation. "I need you… I need you to follow your heart, Percy Jackson. Follow your heart, because I know where it will take you, and you deserve that."

"I don't…" Percy had said, shaking his head. "I don't understand."

"That's because you're a dork," she'd told him, with a small smile. Then she'd reached her arms around his neck and kissed him like the world was ending. He had tasted the saltiness of her tears between their lips. When she'd pulled away, she had brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes and given him one last smile through her scattered freckles. "Goodbye, Percy Jackson."

And she'd disappeared through the doors of the gym after Annabeth, into the hallway and out of sight. Percy had blinked after her for a second and then gone to sit down to process the information.

 _You're in love with her, you know._

Percy opened one eye to look up with Annabeth, who was wiping her nose on her sleeve and eating a bag of M&Ms she had pulled out from in between a couple of the couch cushions. She looked sad, like the world had betrayed her. It was what she looked like when no one was watching, Percy realized.

He sat up too quickly, and Annabeth started, dumping M&Ms on her lap. She gave him a small smile, covering up the expression that had been on her face moments before. Percy draped an arm around her shoulders and turned to watch the TV with her. She leaned into him almost unconsciously.

They made their way through a few more tubs of ice cream and most of a season of _Friends_ before Percy stood up, stretching and reaching a hand out to Annabeth to pull her up. She took it and let him pull her to her feet, dusting crumbs and crumpled tissues off her lap.

"We should go somewhere," Percy said. "We've been inside all day, we should go out and celebrate being single."

Annabeth laughed, and it didn't sound forced. "I—I guess I could stomach that. We could go that new coffee shop that everyone's been talking about; Piper won't stop raving about it."

"Perfect," beamed Percy, pleased. "It's a date. Or, like. An anti-date. We're single, it's all good, we need to celebrate. That kind of date."

Annabeth laughed, pulling her jean jacket off the back of a chair and wrapping it around her shoulders. "Great. Let's go."

"Um, Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you maybe want to… shower first?"

Annabeth blinked at him, affronted. Percy shrugged, and she whirled around to check herself out in the mirror on the wall behind her couch. Her hair was in knotted strands down her back, still sticky with hairspray, and her makeup was in smeared lines down her cheeks. The giant neck of her sweatshirt had slipped off one smooth shoulder, and Percy refused to let his eyes linger.

She snorted. "Okay, fine. Maybe—maybe you're right."

"I'm always right," Percy said, and she threw a pillow at him.

Percy busied himself with cleaning up the living room while she showered, gathering tissues from across the room and sweeping up old crumbs. He was just folding the last blanket when Annabeth emerged, wearing black leggings and an old t-shirt, her hair falling in damp curls down her back. Her face was clean and her cheeks rosy, and she gave him a slight smile.

"Ready?" she asked, grabbing her jean jacket from the couch and pulling on her worn combat boots. Percy nodded with a grin, tossing the folded blanket back onto the couch.

They stepped out the door and onto the street, golden sunlight pouring down and lighting Annabeth's face, transforming her wet hair to strands of pure gold. The storm clouds of the previous night's downpour had disappeared into the horizon and the sky was a periwinkle blue, washed out like bleached denim. It was the sunlight of late afternoon, dripping down the treetops and onto the road. Annabeth turned to face Percy with grin, and it shone in her eyes, making them glow like polished silver. His heart thumped painfully in his chest, but he forced it down.

"Hey—thanks," said Annabeth after a moment, once they had set off down the cracked pavement of the street. She was balancing on the curb beside him, holding her arms out and wobbling along.

"For what?" Percy asked, looking up at her and taking a hand out of his pocket to shade the sun from his eyes.

She smiled down at him, the expression in her eyes soft. "For taking care of me. For trying to make me feel better after—well, you know."

Percy looked at his feet. The tip of his white sock was showing through his sneaker and he wiggled it. "It's what I'm here for."

"Yeah," she said quietly, and when he allowed himself a quick look up at her face, she was still staring down at him, her lips slightly parted and the expression in her eyes unreadable. Percy blushed and pushed Rachel's words to the back of his mind again.

The coffee shop was only a few blocks away, on the corner of a block tucked beside a little deli. Percy and Annabeth pushed through the door into the soft atmosphere of the shop, bell tinkling over their heads. The warm aroma of coffee beans and sugar touched Percy's nose and he inhaled deeply, taking in the sounds of smells of the little coffee shop. Quiet voices melded together, along with the gentle clinking of spoons and the quiet hum of machines in the background. The walls were dotted with photographs, little snippets of places around the world printed on canvas, and there was music playing softly in the background.

Annabeth grabbed his arm and dragged him to a little table in the corner by the window that looked out into the street as the traffic of the evening rumbled on.

Percy got up after a minute and bought them both coffees that came in enormous colourful mugs: a simple black coffee for Annabeth with a dash of cream and a ridiculous iced café-mocha for himself, topped with a mountain of whipped cream and caramel sauce. Annabeth rolled her eyes at the sight of it.

"How can you drink that? It's literally, like, liquid candy," she scoffed, raising her eyebrows at Percy's wide grin. She was smiling too, skeptical and amused like she couldn't quite help it.

"Like this," Percy said, taking an obnoxiously long slurp and sticking his nose into the whipped cream so it came out topped with frothy white. Annabeth snorted, reaching across the table to wipe it of the tip of his nose with her finger. He stiffened slightly at her gentle touch and their eyes met. For a second they stared at each other.

Annabeth dropped her gaze to the table. "So, Percy, how… how are you doing?" she asked uncomfortably, and Percy blinked in confusion.

"Um, I'm alright, I'm actually a little warm though. Why are coffee shops always so hot, do they—"

"No, Percy," Annabeth interrupted gently. "I mean, how are you doing after—I mean, you just went through a breakup, too. I haven't heard you talk about it at all and I just… I want you to know I'm here. To listen. Anything."

"Oh." Percy looked away from her piercing gaze and down at the foamy white cream on his drink. Absently, he stuck his finger into the cream and licked it off before responding. "I'm… okay, actually. Seriously," he added at her raised eyebrow. "I'm actually… not terrible."

"You lost Rachel." Annabeth reached across the table and took one of his hands, and Percy looked up at her in surprise. "You lost someone you loved. That… it has to hurt."

"Well, yeah," Percy said, shifting uncomfortably. "I mean, sure. But… I didn't, you know. At least I don't think I did." His voice trailed off.

"You didn't what?" Annabeth squeezed his hand.

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze, wondering what it meant. "I didn't love Rachel. I mean, I did, I still do. Just not in the way I was supposed to. She… she was great and everything, she's just more like—a friend. Or a sister."

Annabeth gave a tiny, breathy laugh, looking down at her coffee. "I think that's called incest. Making out with your sister."

"It is _not—_ " Percy started indignantly, but Annabeth shushed him with a real laugh.

"I know, Perce. I'm just teasing. That—it's kind of nice, though. To know. That you, well…"

Percy's heart skipped a beat, and he unconsciously tightened his grip around Annabeth's hand. "Why?"

She pulled her hand away, and wrapped both of her hands around her mug, still not meeting his eyes. "Because, well. Because I'm in the same boat. I was with Luke for so long, and just…" She sighed, reaching a hand up and wiping the corner of her eye, a slight tremor in her voice. "I never loved him. He wanted me to. _I_ wanted to. I wanted to be _in_ _love_ , because everyone around me is falling in love and I just—I want that too. I want to be loved. Is that too much to ask?"

She looked up at him, and he could see the tears swimming unshed in her eyes, the desperation behind her eyes. _I want to be loved_. All of a sudden Percy wanted to reach out and brush the tears from her eyes and tell her that she deserved everything in the world.

Somewhere far behind them, the door tinkled open. They stared into each other's eyes until a voice broke into their connection and they tore apart.

"Hey, we interrupting a staring contest or something?" Percy looked up to see Thalia standing above them, with a smirk dancing on her lips and her eyes more alight than Percy had ever seen them. Beside her stood a tall girl with incredible posture that Percy recognized as Reyna, the student-body president of the school. Percy looked down and realized with a start that the girls were holding hands.

Across the table, Annabeth turned away discreetly to wipe her eyes.

"Hey Thalia," Percy nodded. Annabeth's earlier comment came to his mind. "Reyna?" It came out more like a question, and he winced as the two girls exchanged smirks. They both looked especially intimidating standing above him, and Percy felt very small. He wondered fleetingly if he could disappear into his chair. "What are you guys doing here?"

The two exchanged looks, and Reyna spoke up after a minute. "A date. Or something of the sort." She bumped her arm against Thalia, whose pale cheeks flushed pink. Percy grinned, making a mental note to tease her about it later.

"That's cool. We're kind of…" he glanced over at Annabeth, "…on the opposite of a date."

"How so?" asked Reyna, with cool but genuine interest.

Percy scratched the back of his head absently. "I mean, we're kind of… on an anti-date. Like, searching for the cure for breakup pain or something like that." Across the table from him, Annabeth snorted.

"Oh, that's right," Thalia said, shifting her weight uncomfortably. You guys just had… I mean, there was…" she cleared her throat, and Percy's eyes flicked over to Reyna, who was staring at Thalia with a soft fondness he had never seen on her sharp features. "Are you guys… doing… okay?" Thalia finished finally, glaring at Annabeth when she gave a little huff of laughter.

"Yeah, Thals," Annabeth spoke for the first time, her voice a little hoarse. "We're both okay, I think. Thanks. But you know, life goes on. One relationship ends, another begins, all that jazz."

"A new relationship begins?" asked Thalia, raising her eyebrow

"Yeah," Annabeth said, brow furrowed in confusion. "You guys."

"Oh," said Thalia, her tone almost disappointed. Then, " _Oh._ Yeah. Us. We're—awesome. I mean…" she turned to her girlfriend. " _You're_ awesome. I'm… decent."

Reyna laughed and kissed Thalia lightly on the cheek. "You're perfect. Come on, let's leave these two recovering children alone and get us some coffee." She pulled Thalia away by the hand and Thalia waved back at them over her shoulder, looking pleased. Annabeth and Percy exchanged amused smirks.

Percy tried to restart the conversation, but the moment was lost, and Annabeth was staring out the window into the street watching the traffic go by. They drank their coffees in silence, and Percy stared down at the table and thought about Annabeth.

After a while the silence got too heavy, and when Percy looked up Annabeth was sniffling again. She met his concerned gaze and looked quickly down at her coffee mug. It was empty, and Percy realized with a start that his was too; they had been sitting in the corner of the little coffee shop for nearly an hour. Percy stood, scraping his chair back against the wooden floorboards and smiling at Annabeth.

"I have an idea," he said softly at her questioning stare. "C'mon, let's go."

And he held out his hand. For a second Annabeth stared at him, and then she took his outstretched hand and let him pull her out the door.

"Where are we going?" she asked a few minutes later, once they had walked a few blocks down the crowed street and cut down a narrow alleyway to a quieter street. They walked along the sidewalk together, and Percy realized suddenly that they still were holding hands—it was happening a lot today. He was holding her hand again, and he didn't want to let go. Her hand was too soft, too small, too warm—slightly sweaty, but he kept holding on.

He squeezed her hand gently, and she glanced down at where they were intertwined. "It's a surprise. You'll see."

For a while they walked along side by side in comfortable silence, down the busy city streets and past the bright storefronts advertising things they didn't want. There was a breeze blowing through the air, ruffling Annabeth's curls and raising the hairs on Percy's arms, making the fairy-green leaves on the trees shiver. They walked past a storefront selling glorious arrays of brightly-coloured flowers, and on a whim Percy dropped Annabeth's hand and snatched a daisy from a bouquet, presenting it to her with great gusto before grabbing her hand and again and sprinting away before anyone caught them. He could hear her laughter behind him as they ran, bubbly and sweet.

They slowed to a walk again a few blocks later. Annabeth was giggling breathlessly, her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes gleaming brighter than Percy had seen in ages. He wanted to reach out brush the wind-swept curls off of her cheeks, but he restrained himself; instead, he took the daisy from her hand and gently tucked it into her hair. She beamed at him before her eyes fixed on what was behind him, the bright smile dropping from her face.

"Oh," said Annabeth softly, coming to a halt. They had reached their destination.

Their old elementary school, standing tall and red-bricked, with gentle orange sunlight lighting up the side of the building and reflecting off the windows. Percy squeezed Annabeth's hand again, and they looked up at the crumbling building, remembering simpler times. Not every memory from that school was sweet, but the bad days were over; the grass was still green and the swings still creaked. The schoolyard was empty so late in the evening, and Annabeth took the lead, pulling Percy towards the swing set to sit down. She didn't let go off his hand as they sat down side by side.

"Do you remember," she said dreamily, staring off into the distance as they swung gently back and forth, their linked hands dangling between them, "when we sat in that corner and dreamed about the future? I said something about how middle school was going to be a new era of our lives." The corner of her mouth twitched.

Percy snorted. "Well, you weren't _wrong_."

She turned to face him, her grey eyes solemn. "I missed you, you know. All those years. More than anything."

"I missed you too." His voice was soft and her cheeks were pink. "I was—kind of a wreck without you. You're my brains."

"I'm a good judge of books," Annabeth mused sadly, turning back to the sunset. "I'm not as good a judge of people."

Together they stared out into the sunset, reminiscing about times gone by. The sun was sinking into the horizon, turning the fluffy white clouds that drifted on the breeze pink and painting Annabeth's curls fiery gold. They fell silent eventually, and Percy felt more at home then he had in ages, beside his childhood best friend. Holding her hand in his and watching the evening sun bounce off the tiny freckles on her nose.

He reached out his hand and brushed a piece of her hair out from where it was tucked into the collar of her shirt. She shivered as his knuckles grazed her neck, and Percy watched her face: the piercing eyes, the faded freckles, the rosy cheeks, the peach-pink lips.

 _You're in love with her, you know._

It was the truth. Rachel had been right all along.

Her eyes were grey and the sky was blue and _he_ _loved_ _her_.

And, Percy realized, he always had.

* * *

 **A/N: So. We are approaching. Some important stuff,** **i.e. PERCABETH YES.**

 **Okay first I have to thank all you guys for your incredible reaction to last chapter I mean ahhh I don't think I've ever gotten that many reviews on a single chapter. Like you guys are literally my favourites thank you all so so much and just know that I read every one of your reviews and they all made me smile so MUCH aghh. Hopefully you liked this chapter as much... I mean obviously not as much drama but FLUFF I like fluff.**

 **Anyways my usual thanks to my favourite Rachel (The Writing Maniac) for editing this in about two hours because she got excited and just being amazing and awesome in general. Also shoutout to my friend Bronwyn because you read Childhood and that made me happy. Hi! *waves***

 **That is all for today folks and make sure in to tune in next time because shit's about to GO DOWN. Love all you lovely readers and leave a review!**

 **-GGW**


	29. Waves of Green

It started with their joined hands and the sunset.

It was so average, it felt so normal, nothing special. Just one friend helping out another. And yet somehow it changed everything.

"You wanna go see a movie?" Percy's voice asked immediately when she picked up the phone one Saturday, his tone excited and eager.

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh. "You could just _text_ me like a normal person, you know."

"I didn't feel like waiting that long to hear your voice," he teased, and Annabeth giggled again, flopping backwards onto the couch. They had been doing this a lot lately—flirting a little bit, teasing each other.

Annabeth called it friendship. Piper called it sexual tension.

It had been four weeks since the prom. Four weeks, and Annabeth had stopped crying herself to sleep over Luke, deleted all the pictures of him from her camera roll and Instagram, given back the few things of his that she'd collected over the last couple of years. Even though it still hurt, and sometimes all the memories came flooding back to knock Annabeth off her feet, she was starting to get over it.

Her friends helped. Piper was always there with open arms and ice cream, boxes of tissues and endless movies. Thalia and Hazel helped too, and the four girls went around the city replacing the now bitter memories of Luke with better ones.

But surprisingly, it was Percy who helped the most. He was always there for her almost before she could finish typing or hang up the phone. He would drop everything and come to her door with his protective embrace and his faint scent of chlorine and Annabeth couldn't help but relax every time she saw his gentle smile.

She tried her best to help him, too; he had just broken up with Rachel—shouldn't he need just as much comfort as her? Perhaps, she thought, it had been more neutral on their part, not as jarring and humiliating and traumatising as what she had gone through with Luke.

Sometimes she caught Percy staring at her almost wistfully. He always looked away too quickly, and Annabeth wondered if she was reminding him of Rachel in some way. The thought always gave her a little twinge in the pit of her stomach.

"Annabeth?" Percy's voice prompted gently through the phone, and Annabeth started. She had almost forgotten about the boy on the other end of the line.

"Yeah," she mumbled, then cleared her throat. "I'm here."

"So," Percy asked, and Annabeth could hear the smile in his voice. "You wanna go see a movie today? Or tomorrow. Any day, really. I don't have a life."

Annabeth laughed, twirling a curl around her finger. "Please, _I'm_ your life."

"Yeah," he said softly, and there was a touch of something close to sadness in his voice. "You are."

Annabeth picked at her nails, holding the phone between her shoulder and her ear. "We went to the movies last weekend; we should find somewhere new to hang out."

"You've always been the smart one."

It had stared with the coffee shop a couple weeks ago, the day they had dashed through the city streets and held hands on the swing set. The next day Percy texted her early in the morning, and after school they had gone to a movie. It had all snowballed from there. They skipped fourth period and went out for lunch. In the evenings they went to the park and to see movies, and they did their homework at the coffee shop, bonding over algebra and mugs of hot coffee.

One afternoon, he took her to the aquarium, and she got more entertainment watching him fawn over all the colourful fish and sea creatures than watching them herself. He had looked so cute, his palms pressed up against the class and a grin of childish excitement on his face, bouncing from tank to tank. She had taken his hand again that day, between the walls off water and the tiny fluttering fish.

"You're dating," Piper told her one day as they walked home from school, her tone matter-of-fact and her eyebrows raised. "You're dating Percy Jackson and there's _nothing_ you can say to change my mind."

Annabeth kept telling her that _it wasn't like that_ , but even she was starting to wonder now.

Percy's voice over the phone startled her back to reality again. "We have to go out, though. Like, for real this time,"

Annabeth nodded absently like he could see her. They both paused to think.

The line was silent, and Annabeth was enjoying the static she could hear as Percy thought. It was like they were on their own personal wavelength that no one else could join.

"I have an idea," Percy gasped suddenly, and Annabeth jumped, almost dropping the phone. She had started to nod off.

"What, what?" she asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"We could go to the beach! Like when we were kids, remember?"

Annabeth smiled softly, images of crashing waves and sandcastles flooding her mind. "Yeah. Yeah, I loved it there."

"Great," said Percy smugly. "It's a date. Text you the details?"

"Please," Annabeth laughed, and was answered with the soft beep of the phone hanging up. She scoffed, and dropped her phone on the couch behind her, flopping over and covering her face.

 _It's a date_.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You finally have a date—an actual real life _date—_ with Percy Jackson?"

Annabeth blinked and tried not to flush, but she felt the heat creeping up her neck anyways. "I'm telling you Piper, it's not a big deal."

Piper groaned, falling backwards onto to Annabeth's bed. She narrowly avoided kicking Thalia in the face, and Thalia gave a loud exclamation of protest when Piper's socked foot swung past her nose.

"Annabeth, can we go over this reasonably?" Piper asked, her voice muffled. "Percy Jackson, who you have known since you were a baby, who you have been unofficially dating for like, a month, ask you out and it's _not a big deal_?"

"Well, it's _isn't_ —"

Piper sighed. "Just tell me something honestly, babe. Do you like him?"

"I—" stumbled Annabeth. It was the question that had been swirling around her head in whirlpools for weeks. _Percy Jackson_. He was always on her mind, and she replayed every conversation they had over and over again, analyzing every tiny thing he said, randomly laughing when she remembered the funny bits. Sometimes she saw him on the back of her eyelids when she closed her eyes, those green eyes, that bright smile. His smile was like sunshine, she thought stupidly one day as he laughed at some unheard joke. It lit up the whole room. "I…"

Piper brought her fingertips up to her lips, her eyes wide with barely contained glee. Beside them, Thalia and Hazel were perfectly silent. "Oh my god, you do. You like him, you really do. You like him a _lot._ "

Annabeth looked down at her feet, twitching her bare toes and examining the cracked polish as intently as she could. "Yes," she admitted softly. "I do."

"Oh Annabeth," whispered Piper sympathetically, but when Annabeth risked looking up her eyes were full of joy.

"It's really not a big deal," insisted Annabeth hoarsely. Her whole face felt hot, and she resisted the urge to fan herself.

"It sure sounds like a big deal to me," said Hazel from where she was sitting on Annabeth's bed swinging her legs and daintily licking an ice cream cone.

Annabeth scowled at her, thankful for the excuse to snap her eyes away from Piper's knowing gaze. "Until you stop eating ice cream on my clean bedsheets, _you_ don't get to venture an opinion."

Hazel simply smirked and continued to eat her ice cream innocently.

Thalia groaned loudly. "You guys are so gross. Couples are gross."

" _You_ have a girlfriend," Piper reminded her, nudging Thalia's head with her foot. Thalia swatted at her. "Which isn't even important right now, because Annabeth has a _date_ and she needs us to help her prepare."

"No!" groaned Annabeth, covering her face with her hands. "Don't, please don't."

Piper picked up one long blonde curl off Annabeth's back and examined it closely. Annabeth shuffled self-consciously; she hadn't washed her hair in about four days, and it was flattened with grease and slightly matted. Piper dropped the strand and prodded Annabeth twice in between the shoulder blades. "Shower. Now."

Annabeth stifled a sigh. "Piper, you can't just…"

"You don't have much time, go, go, _go!_ " Piper yelled, shoving Annabeth towards the bathroom door. She snatched the towel off the back of Annabeth's desk chair and tossed it at her, then pushed her out the door.

Annabeth stalled as long as she could, standing underneath the hot stream of water that dripped down her back and soaked her hair. When the water started to run cold, she finally stepped out of the shower with a resigned huff and headed towards her room, pulling her fluffy bathrobe on and tying it around her waist. Piper actually squealed when she came into the room, and Annabeth cringed. Sometimes Piper's over-enthusiasm was somewhat overbearing.

Piper dashed around Annabeth's room, collecting all the hair products she could find and hoarding bobby pins and hair ties. Annabeth looked at them anxiously. Beside her, Hazel put and arm around Annabeth's shoulder, resting her soft hair against Annabeth's neck. She had to stand on her tiptoes to do so, but her presence was warm and comforting and she smelled like cinnamon.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "I won't let Piper go too crazy on you. You're going to have a wonderful day."

And for once, Annabeth let herself believe her.

Piper and Hazel set to work. First, Piper scrunched in a few of Annabeth's hair products and dried the long, drenched curls with a diffuser. After it was completely dry, she carefully twisted Annabeth's hair into a half-up waterfall braid, letting the free curls fall long and shiny down her back.

Hazel dusted her eyelids with translucent silver, and then put swiped some peach-coloured lip gloss on Annabeth's lips. The two girls danced around her, fluffing and working diligently while Thalia sat on the bed behind them and yawned pointedly.

Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath—all the attention she was getting to her head. It _shouldn't_ be a big deal. She didn't want it to be a big deal, but dammit, it was _Percy_ and he was the biggest deal in her life.

When Annabeth finally snuck a glance in the mirror, she inhaled softly at the reflection. She was still undeniably _Annabeth_ ; her friends hadn't changed that. But somehow, she looked younger, prettier… more innocent. Like she hadn't seen the wrong side of the world. She was just a teenager, going on a first date.

Maybe that's all she was.

"I love it," she told Hazel quietly when she leaned over to give Annabeth a hug. "It's beautiful. I look… nice."

"For the record," said Hazel in her ear, "you don't need it."

"We need a dress," Piper called from across the room, where she was rummaging around in Annabeth's closet. "Something that screams _casual_. Or maybe like, _pretty and effortless._ "

"Because this is _completely_ effortless," said Thalia dryly from where she was lying on Annabeth's bed with her legs dangling and a comic book held over her face. Piper glared at her.

"You're not even _helping_ ," she pointed out bossily, and Thalia simply grunted in response. Piper rolled her eyes and continued ransacking Annabeth's closet, tossing old dresses that Annabeth had forgotten she had out onto the carpet.

Annabeth stood up, retying the belt of her bathrobe and wandering over to crouch by the pile of old clothes. She had never bothered to get rid of any of her old dresses, so they were all there, crumpled on her tan carpet.

Annabeth picked one up. It was the flower girl dress she had worn for Sally's wedding, and it hardly looked bigger than a t-shirt. She sniffled, just a little bit—the dress was shiny and white, with sparkling sequins and tiny silky fairy wings coming out the back. Annabeth dropped it quickly, like the silk had burned her. Too many bad things had come out of the day she had worn that dress, and the worst hadn't even happened to her. She glared at the dress.

Someone quietly crouched down beside her, and Annabeth turned her head to look, blinking quickly, her eyes stinging with tears she didn't even realize had formed. Thalia wrapped one strong, thin arm around Annabeth's shoulders, smiling at her with expertly lined blue eyes.

Annabeth got the unspoken message—Thalia understood.

Her friend grinned and picked up a dress, holding it up and showing it to Annabeth. "You wore this one to our grad in eighth grade, right?"

Annabeth nodded, dusting her fingertips lightly over the mint-green tulle. "I'm surprised you remember."

"I pay attention sometimes," Thalia huffed, and Annabeth laughed.

"I found one!" Piper said triumphantly, holding out a blue dress from the back of Annabeth's closet. It was a simple skater dress, sky blue and made of stretchy material with a soft halter top.

Annabeth picked up the end of the skirt and stared at it. "I actually have no idea where this came from."

Piper rolled her eyes affectionately. "Well it's yours, dumbass, so put it on. You're wearing it with your white Chuck Taylors, got it? And wear your pretty bra, the push-up one with the lace."

"Percy's not going to see my _bra,_ Piper."

Thalia shrugged wickedly. "I mean, he _might_. You never know."

"Guys!" squeaked Hazel from across the room, and the other three laughed. Whenever anything vaguely insinuating came up, Hazel got very flustered and squeaky.

"You ready to go?" Piper asked a minute later as Annabeth pulled her socks on, and Annabeth looked up at her in surprise, quirking an eyebrow.

"Are you coming with me on my date?" she asked sarcastically, and Piper grinned.

"No, but I'm _driving_ you there. I think Thals is coming too, right?" She glanced at Thalia, who nodded, and then turned to Hazel with her bright eyes questioning.

Hazel shook her head. "Wish I could, but I have to help Frank study for his math test," she said fondly. The other three exchanged sly smiles.

"Well it'll be nice to have you nerds along for the ride," said Annabeth, getting to her feet. "We should get going, I'm supposed to meet Percy in like, an hour."

Thalia and Piper chatted happily on the ride there, while Annabeth twisted her hands in her lap and stared anxiously out the window, watching the world fly by. What if she had misinterpreted Percy's words? What if they were nothing more than friends? She was sitting shotgun, and Thalia kept leaning over in between the seats to argue with Piper while Annabeth's mind raced. Hanging out with Percy was easy and effortless, so why was she so nervous?

Maybe it was just in the air that day.

"Do you have your phone?" asked Piper when she finally pulled into a parking spot. Annabeth had just reached for the door handle, and she sighed inwardly.

"Yes."

"Wallet?" interrogated Piper, tapping the steering wheel.

"Yes, _mom._ " Annabeth fiddled with the door handle, and Piper beamed.

"You have fun," she said, unlocking the door so Annabeth could hop out. "Call me if you need anything at all, I'll be there as soon as I can. Be safe, babe!"

Thalia hopped out, too, so she could take Annabeth's seat in the front, and rolled down the window as the two drove away. "Use protection," she screamed before the turned out of sight, sticking her head out the window so her dark hair whipped around her face. They disappeared around a corner before Annabeth had time to retaliate.

Annabeth simply rolled her eyes and slipped her hands into the pockets of her dress, making her way through the parking lot and into the crowds that filled the beaches. The early-June day was warm, but there was a breeze coming up off the ocean, tossing Annabeth's curls and rippling the bottom of her dress. The beach was filled with people, and Annabeth heard the cheerful shrieks of children playing and the eternal splashing of the tide bumping up against the shore, steady and comforting. She took a deep breath, and wandered out into the soft sand, feeling it under her shoes. She and Percy had agreed to meet by one of the snack bars, and she bought an ice cream as she waited, staring out into the shimmering blue of the water as she licked the sweet vanilla cream.

The beach was a place of many memories. Her eyes found one of the lifeguard chairs and she watched it idly, remembering that Percy's dad—his _real_ dad—had been a lifeguard in the summers when he was alive. She wondered which chair had been his, and she thought just maybe she could almost remember being here with them. With Poseidon and Percy Jackson, back when her life was sweet and perfect.

It had almost gone full circle, she thought with a wistful smile. Her life wasn't always amazing, but she loved it, and sometimes she thought it was almost, _almost_ , perfect.

Percy hadn't arrived yet—Annabeth should have known better than to come early, that boy would be late to his own funeral—so she wandered out into the beach as she finished her ice cream, pulling off her shoes and socks so that she could feel the soft sand in between her toes. She waded into the water, letting it splash around her ankles and up her legs, cool and refreshing.

Something pulled at the hem of her dress, and Annabeth opened her eyes, glancing downwards. There was a tiny girl tugging at the bottom of her dress, staring up at her with round eyes. The little girl had chocolaty curls pulled back into tiny pigtails, and big eyes as green as an emerald. She grinned toothily at Annabeth, and pulled once more at the bottom of her dress.

"Hi," said Annabeth, kneeling down to face the little girl and holding her dress up so it wouldn't drag in the water. "What's your name?"

The toddler bounced and smiled widely. "Katie Gardener," she said proudly, like learning her own name was an enormous accomplishment. "I'm building a sand castel. Can you help?"

Annabeth pulled out her phone to check the time. She wasn't supposed to meet Percy for another twenty minutes. "Why not?"

She sat down on the soft sand beside the little girl—Katie—trying to prevent the soft skirt of her dress from gathering sand, then giving up and sitting down anyways. Katie's sandcastle was mostly just a lump of sand, but she seemed proud of it, and Annabeth taught her how to collect the damp sand from where the tide washed over the shore and pack it into the buckets to make perfect little sculptures. Together, they built a city, complete with a moat and little rocks that circled each tower. Katie dotted everything with tiny flowers, and eventually she found a little twig with a leaf still attached and they used it as a flag on the highest tower.

Annabeth sat back to watch the little girl after a few minutes as she bounced around, her tiny pigtails springing up and down and her laugh like the bubbles on the sea. She was beautiful, Annabeth thought, and she wondered idly what it would be like to have a little girl of her own. One day, maybe, she could have her own colourful little toddler, with the same raven-black curls and sea-green eyes and—

Annabeth stopped, blinking blankly at the sandcastle in front of her. _Percy_. She was imagining Percy's child.

Was that what she wanted?

Not now, of course. It was laughably far in the future. But she and Percy would make good parents one day, she was sure of it. They would try so hard to make their children's lives perfect, to reverse every mistake that had been made on the two of them.

Annabeth bit her lip. But what if they couldn't? What if they broke another batch of innocent children? She took a shuddering breath at the thought, trying to calm herself by watching Katie dump handfuls of wet sand into her little flowered bucket.

She was utterly insane. She was _sixteen_ , and Percy Jackson wasn't even her boyfriend.

The future was so far away; she didn't have to think about it.

Annabeth sighed, standing up and dusting off the back of her skirt. She was just turning to say goodbye to Katie when someone called her name.

"Annabeth! Hey, Annabeth."

She didn't turn, because she recognized that voice. No, it wasn't. It couldn't be, not today.

"Annabeth!" it called again, and Annabeth turned with a sigh. Blond hair, ice blue eyes. _Luke,_ jogging towards her with an eager smile on his face.

"Annabeth," panted Luke, coming to a halt in front of her. Annabeth swallowed. "Hey, this is—I can't believe this, this is great."

"What do you want, Luke?" she asked, her voice ice. He winced slightly.

He ran a hand through his hair, making the white-blond strands stick straight up. It used to drive her crazy when he did that. "Look, Annabeth, I don't—I just want to talk okay? We really need to talk. I just—have some stuff I have to say."

Annabeth looked around anxiously. Nowhere to hide. She sighed loudly, and then looked down at her brightly-painted toes. They were bare, and her shoes sat beside Katie's castle. She leaned down to pick them up. "Fine," she told Luke. "I'll give you a couple minutes. Let's—let's walk."

She started quickly, marching away in the direction of the snack bar so Luke had to jog to keep up. She was supposed to meet Percy in a couple minutes and she didn't want to be missing when he arrived—and if he arrived partway through the conversation maybe he could scare Luke away for her.

What she wouldn't give to have Percy by her side right then.

They stopped in front of a garbage can and Annabeth whirled around to face Luke, crossing her arms and giving him her best death stare. "Talk," she commanded, and he quickly obliged, staring imploringly into her eyes. She tried to match his stare as best she could.

"Annabeth, look. I made a mistake. I made a really, _really_ big mistake, probably the worst mistake of my life, okay? I've regretted what happened every day since it did, and I regret the things I said more than anything, and I can't—I wish I could go back in time and reverse it all, but—"

"I don't," said Annabeth softly, her fists clenched tightly, and Luke blinked at her.

"What?"

"I _don't_ ," she said more forcefully, taking a step towards him. "You _broke_ my heart, Luke, and I'm glad you did because if you hadn't I might—I might still be with you. You showed me your true colours and thank god for that, because I know who you are now and I _deserve better!_ " She was shouting then, half blind with fury. All she wanted was to scream at this boy who seemed to think he deserved forgiveness just because he regretted something.

Luke cringed, breaking eye contact and looking down at the ground. "I know. I know you do. You deserve a million times better than me, Annabeth Chase. You deserve someone who would never consider being unfaithful even if she was—shit, even if she was hotter than Drew." He looked up at her hopefully, and she shook her head in disgust. "That's not me, Annabeth," he continued, dejected. "You know that it's not. But I _promise_ that there is no one on this earth that will ever love you more than I did—than I _do._ You were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I won't stop loving you, Annabeth. I know—I know what I said that night, Annabeth but—I didn't mean any of it. You don't have to tell me you love me for me to know."

He smiled up at her, somewhat bashfully, and Annabeth scoffed, crossing her arms, unable to look at his face anymore. "No, Luke. You meant it, and you were right. I don't love you, and I never have. You helped me see that." She looked back at him, and felt an irrational wave of pity—he looked so crushed. She tried to make her voice gentle, and took one of his hands. "Luke, I know you think you love me, but there are so many people that are better for you. That won't make you feel like you need to cheat. You and me—whatever we were—we didn't _work._ Even if I tell I forgive you now, we could _never_ work."

"You forgive me?" he asked, squeezing her hand.

It was easier than she thought it would be to smile. _Closure_. Isn't this what everyone dreamed of? "Yeah," she said softly. "I'll forgive you. Just promise me that you won't ever do that to another girl. Promise me you won't hurt _anyone_ the way you hurt me ever again."

"I promise," he mumbled, staring down at his feet. He looked up shyly and gave her a small grin, swinging their still-intertwined hands slightly. "See, we work, 'beth. We could make a team. Give me one last chance, and I show you that I know better than I did, that I can make you happy."

She dropped his hand, wiping her own off on her dress and staring at him. "No, Luke. I already told you _no._ Besides, I'm actually here waiting for—"

He cut her off by surging forwards and pressing his lips against hers.

For a second, Annabeth was caught off guard, unable to move or breathe, unable to shove Luke away or respond to his soft lips moving against hers. Then she recovered her senses and put her hands on his chest, shoving with all her might so that he stumbled backwards off her, panting. She dragged her arm across her lips. " _Luke!_ "

He grabbed her hands, holding on tightly as she tried to squirm away and pulling her close to him. "Tell me that didn't feel right, Annabeth. Tell me we're not meant to be."

She stared at him in disgust, and opened her mouth to respond before catching a glimpse of movement over his shoulder. She looked up.

And her heart was in her toes.

It was a cliché teen movie, and it was her worst nightmare. It was _Percy_ , standing a few feet behind them with his green eyes wide and his jaw slack, wearing a green collared shirt that matched his eyes and tan shorts, clutching a bouquet of little pink flowers like a lifeline.

How much had he seen?

"No," breathed Annabeth. " _No_."

"What?" said Luke. "Annabeth?"

Percy took a step backwards, and Annabeth shook her head desperately. He took another step, and then dropped his delicate flowers, spinning around and crushing them under his heel as he walked away.

" _No!_ " cried Annabeth, suddenly feeling like she might collapse if she tried to take a step. Right at that moment, Luke kissed her again with warm lips, and she reacted on instinct, shoving him off her and clenching her hand into a fist to ram into his jaw with enough force to send him staggering backwards.

"Get _off_ me!" she shrieked, drawing back her fist to punch him again, and he stumbled away.

"Alright," he gasped, clutching at his jaw. "Alright, I'll leave you alone. Jeeze." He turned away, muttering under his breath. "Crazy bitch."

Annabeth barely heard him. Percy was getting away.

She started after him, stumbling on her own feet and then she was running. She paused a second later to pick up the flowers he had dropped. Apple blossoms, small and fresh and pink. They were crushed and slightly torn but she clutched them to her chest as she ran, staggering as she sprinted after Percy. Everything was foggy with desperation.

"Percy!" she called after him, and he flinched but continued walking faster. "Percy!" she tried again. " _Percy_!"

She was nearly shrieking, almost hysterical, and Percy finally stopped, not turning to face her.

She came to a clumsy halt, panting and shaking. For a minute she took deep breaths, trying to make the air return to the bottom of her lungs, but she couldn't. She choked out Percy's name one last time, and finally he turned to face her.

She almost wished that he hadn't.

His breathing was just as uneven as hers, short jagged breaths that sounded like something inside of him was ripping apart. His arms were by his sides, his hands clenched into shaking fists. But his eyes—his eyes were the worst. Annabeth had only seen that expression once before in his eyes, and it had been the worst day of her life. _Shattered_.

She held onto the crushed apple blossoms for dear life.

"What, Annabeth?" he managed, and his voice was raw. Pain flared up inside her. "What do you want? To tell me I got the wrong idea? That I bought flowers and dressed up for the wrong girl? Then what—what have we been doing for the past couple weeks? I thought this was… well, it doesn't matter what I thought."

"Percy," she panted, still unable to say anything than his name. "Percy, you don't—what you saw, it wasn't—I agreed… I agreed to talk to him. To let him—let him explain. He kissed _me_ , Percy, I didn't want to, please don't…"

"Please," Percy scoffed, the word a humourless laugh. "I know what I saw. You could have shoved him off Annabeth, but you didn't. You let it happen. You—you wanted it to happen."

"No, _no,_ how can you think that? He took me by surprise! I couldn't do _anything_!" she tried, almost sobbing. If she couldn't convince him, the world would collapse.

"You keep telling yourself that." His voice was icicles. A million degrees below freezing.

" _Percy_ …"

"Don't think I care, Annabeth," he added quietly, and she nearly choked.

"What?"

"Don't think I _care_ who you kiss." His voice shook like he was trying to hold back tears and make it sound like he was fine, but he _wasn't._ Annabeth's heart constricted. "It's fine, Annabeth. It's really fine. Whatever—whoever you're with, I just… hope that you're happy. If—if _Luke_ makes you happy then you should…" he looked up at her, his mouth twisting in disgust, an obvious shield to hide the fact that his lips were trembling. "Maybe it's my fault. I mean—you're one of my best friends, and I thought—I thought it was more than that. I was _worried_ about you, Annabeth, but don't think it was because I care who you're with. You and I, Annabeth?" he pointed between them with a shaking hand. "We're _nothing._ I guess—I guess I thought something was happening, and it wasn't. That much is obvious."

The words stung like needles, and Annabeth closed her eyes so that she wouldn't she wouldn't have to see his crumpled expression, taking deep breaths and trying to untie the painful knot that had settled in her stomach. "You know that's not true, Percy."

"Do I?"

"You _do_. I know it. We're a million things, Percy, we always have been, but _nothing_ has never been one of them. We've been through so _much_ —we went from being best friends, to enemies, to acquaintances, to friends again, and then to—to something _more_ , just in these past couple weeks. And you… you can deny it all you want, but if you didn't care, you wouldn't be standing here." She dug her fingernails into the stems of her flowers, desperate to have something to hold onto. Percy's eyes focused on the torn petals.

He shook his head. "Annabeth, I—I thought you were a part of my future." His head was bent, and Annabeth saw the sparkle of tears on his eyelashes. "I'm—I'm sorry. I'm going to need—I don't know, time or something. I guess—"

"Bullshit," Annabeth broke in softly and Percy's voice died out. " _Bullshit_ ," she yelled and she was stepping towards Percy, her voice and her hands shaking. Everything shaking. "If I'm not a part of your future or your time, your effort, your _care_ , why are you standing here? With me? There are a million better places to be and a million better people to be with, Percy, and _you know it_!" She broke off. He was staring at her like she was explosive, and she took a breath. Then she tried again, her tone quavering but controlled. "You _care_ , Percy. If this is nothing, why do you care?" He didn't answer, and she almost felt like throwing up. " _Why do you care_?"

He cringed backwards, away from her. He was facing half-away from her, like he wanted to sprint away if he got the chance.

Finally, he spoke, his words low and hoarse, soft and trembling. "What if I told you it's because I'm in love with you?"

Suddenly, Annabeth's world was frozen.

And everything clicked into place.

Time stopped and the world faded, and Annabeth's feet were frozen to the ground and all she could do was stare at Percy, into his eyes like the sea in the morning that were sparkling with tears he would never let fall. Her eyes were on the swoop of his hair and the curve of his jaw and the harsh line of his mouth, and everything was falling into place.

She had a word for it. That emotion that had coursed through her veins for years, since she was a child, since she first set eyes on him. Her friends had been right—everyone had been right—and _she loved Percy Jackson_. And suddenly she was blinded by a rush of emotion, coursing like fire through her veins to the tips of her toes and she couldn't move or breathe.

When it cleared, the world had begun to move again, and then it was moving too fast, racing before Annabeth's eyes. Percy, her beautiful, beautiful boy, was blinking his eyes too quickly and turning away from her and all of a sudden she was _terrified,_ deathly terrified that she was going to lose him. But all she could do was blink and swallow and watch him disappear.

"That's what I thought," he choked out, starting to turn away from her.

He took one step, then two, before Annabeth finally found her voice. It burst out of her, scorching her throat and tumbling unchecked out of her mouth.

It came out quieter than she expected, soft and full of emotion. "I would tell you I loved you too."

Percy froze. Annabeth watched as his fist slowly clenched and unclenched by his sides. She was all too aware of her breathing in her ears, fast and anxious.

Agonizingly slowly, Percy turned to face her and their eyes met. Annabeth's last fleeting thought was that she could drown in those eyes.

He took a step forwards, and then all at once he was kissing her, and the world dissolved.

It wasn't Annabeth's first kiss, not by a long shot, but it felt like the first kiss that had ever truly mattered. Her apple blossoms were crushed between them, and her shoes tumbled from her grip, thumping to the ground. They weren't kids playing at love and the kiss wasn't soft and gentle; their teeth clashed and there was spit on her chin, and it was messy and desperate. Annabeth felt heat flare in her stomach, and she had never felt anything so perfect. She flung her arms around his neck to pull him closer, dropping her flowers to rake her hands though his hair, wrapping the soft strands around her fingers and pulling him closer for more, more, _more_.

When they finally broke apart, gasping for air, Annabeth heard a couple wolf-whistles in the distance, but she ignored them. Percy's arms were around her waist and hers around his neck, and as she gazed into his bright eyes, swimming with happiness. The tears were still shimmering in his eyes, and they shone like precious jewels. She couldn't help the little bubble of joyful laughter that spilled out of her throat.

"You love me?" Percy asked, his eyes alight and his cheeks flushed with soft wonder.

"I love you," she confirmed softly, and the words felt so good against her tongue that she never wanted to stop saying them. "I love you. I'm _in love with you,_ Percy. And I think that—I think that I have been most of my life." She gave a chuckle that was mostly a sob and sniffled. "Everything in our _lives,_ since the first moment I met you, has led up to this, Percy. All of it."

Percy gently touched her cheek, chuckling quietly, and his eyelashes were damp. "You're crying."

It wasn't a question, but Annabeth brought her fingertips up to her eyes, surprised as she drew them away damp. But for once, showing emotion wasn't weakness, it was _strength,_ and another little laugh choked its way out of her throat. Percy laughed along with her, and there was a tear on his cheek. She wiped it off with her thumb, hand trembling slightly.

"It's just… I haven't been this happy since…"

Percy's hands were still on her face, and she trapped one to her cheek with her own hand. "Since when?" he murmured.

Annabeth closed her eyes and pressed his hand closer, trying to absorb his warmth. "Since ever."

It was true; never in her life had she ever felt so gloriously happy as she did in that moment, because Percy's eyes were green and she thought he was crying a little bit, but it was perfect, so perfect.

Percy laughed and pressed his forehead to into hers. "Me neither."

Her throat released one last laugh, and a couple more tears slid down her cheeks. Percy wiped them gently away with his fingertips, leaning in to kiss the tip of her nose. Annabeth closed her eyes, warm and safe in his arms, and hoped the moment would last forever.

She leaned in to kiss him again, smiling against the warmth of his lips and the silk of his hair and the sea of his eyes, and she knew she was right.

She loved him—she was _in love_ with him.

And she'd never been happier.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! I present to you: PERCABETH.**

 **I was going to upload this tomorrow, but Rachel told me that I had to do it today because Valentine's Day and Percabeth so. Here I am. Also it is worth noting that this chapter was nick** **named "Operation Percabeth" before I came up with the proper name and my friends wanted me to keep it like that so I'm giving it a shoutout.**

 **I. CANNOT. BELIEVE. WE'RE. HERE. The Percabeth is here to stay and there's only like three chapters left to write and ahhhh how did I get here I've been planning this chapter for about a year and a half so I do hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to my lovely Rachel for her terrific editing and suggestions, and shoutout to my dumbass friends who read the make-out scene loudly and dramatically over my shoulder as I wrote it in the school cafeteria the other day. Love you morons.**

 **Anyways, I hope you loved it, and leave me a review for Percabeth. I do guarantee I read every review I get because I LOVE them. Love you all, and Happy Feb. 14th.**

 **-GGW**


	30. Picture Perfect

The beach was nearly empty.

The sun was starting to set, and only a few stray figures wandered in the distance, holding hands, tossing beach balls. The waves were bumping up against the store, calm and friendly, and Annabeth was in Percy's arms, leaning against him in the sand. Absently, he rubbed circles on the smooth skin of her arm, feeling the goosebumps raised by the breeze that was rustling the end of her curls. She was curled up against him, her bare feet tucked underneath her, her head leaned gently against his shoulder. Percy wanted to last in this moment forever, this feeling of perfect bliss and calm and perfection.

"We're idiots," said Annabeth softly from his arms, and Percy chuckled, squeezing her arm slightly and looking down at her.

"Why?"

She shifted a bit, so she was facing him. "Percy, this—this is where we should have been for _years_ , and we got so lost that… how did it take this long for us?"

Percy shrugged. "You said it. We're idiots."

Annabeth laughed, reaching up to pat him on the cheek. "That's what I hear."

"Wait so, does that mean… does that mean we're a couple now?" Percy asked, strangely nervous. He pulled on the end of one wispy curls framing her face to avoid her eyes.

She smiled. "Okay."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, and then nodded again, her face breaking out into a grin. "Okay."

"Okay." Percy took her face in between his hands, his grin so wide he thought it would split his face open. _"Okay."_

She laughed again, a little joyful bubble of warm laughter into Percy's face, and he couldn't resist pulling her forwards and pressing their lips together again. Her lips were parted with laughter and she melted into him. He could feel her smile pressed up against his lips as he kissed her, both hands cupped around her cheeks. He ran his thumbs gently over her cheeks, under her eyes, and she giggled into his mouth.

This was what kissing should be, Percy decided. When he was dating Rachel, it was always solemn, silent. It felt like something serious and grown up, and Percy always got the feeling like he should like it more that he did.

Kissing Annabeth was different. Her hands were in his hair, on his cheeks, dusting up and down his thigh. Laughter felt genuine, natural. Every so often they pulled apart and grinned at each other, flushed and almost sheepish, before they leaned back in. Percy had never felt anything like it. This was what everyone _meant_ when they talked about it. Free and exciting. Gentle laughter against lips, crinkled eyes. It was like electricity, crackling through his whole body, from where her lips touched to the tips of his toes.

"I like you, Percy," she mumbled against his lips in between hasty kisses. "Oh my god, I like you so _much._ "

He moved his lips down to her neck, and she tossed her head back, long curls swaying, to give him a better angle. She gasped as his teeth grazed her collarbone, and Percy grinned against her smooth skin. It was fun, feeling Annabeth gasp and giggle, knowing that he was the cause. It was wonderful.

"I like you too," he replied, pulling back after a few moment to look at her face. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes alight. "I like you more than anyone in the world, Annabeth. You can't imagine how good it feels to _say_ that."

She put a hand on the back of his neck to pull him back in, speaking in gasps between their joined lips. "I can,"— _gasp—_ "I _can_."

It was still terrifying, and Percy was still afraid that she would change her mind, that he would do something wrong, that somehow the two of them would fail. But he was kissing his best friend, and though the taste of vanilla ice-cream on her lips had long since worn off, he couldn't possibly imagine anything more perfect.

Percy wasn't sure of he would ever have enough of this wonderful new world of making out with Annabeth, but they got tired eventually. Soon, they were lying on the sand together, her head resting on his stomach and their hands intertwined, staring up the sky together as the colours of the day slowly faded. Percy squeezed her hand gently, and she sighed.

"Percy, can I ask a favour?"

Percy lifted his head slightly to look at her. She had one hand resting on her stomach, and she was staring peacefully up at the sky. He felt a rush of affection. "Yeah?"

"Can we—can we not tell anyone about us right away? I mean, I want everyone to know that you're mine, I want us to be official, but I want—I want a little time, you know? I want to get used to us being _us_ before everyone knows we are." She put a hand on her forehead, and Percy could feel her shaking her head against his stomach. "I—I'm sorry, I know I'm not making any sense right now, I just—"

"Annabeth," he broke in, and she tilted her head up to look at him. "I get it. I want to—to get used to us, too. We have to make this right, we have to make us _work_. After all this time I am _not_ —not screwing this up."

She shook her head fervently. "Me neither." Then again—"Me neither."

There was a brief pause in the conversation as Percy watched pink bloom against the clouds in the sky. Then he asked, "So what are you going to tell Piper?"

Annabeth groaned loudly. "Oh god, I have no idea. She'll want to know every detail, I don't know how I can keep it from her, ugh—I'll probably tell we're—uh, we've kissed, but we're taking it slow? Seeing where we go?"

Percy smiled, and he could still taste her lips. "Seeing where we go. I like that."

Annabeth exhaled deeply, relaxed. "Let's not go anywhere just yet."

"Okay."

So they didn't.

* * *

On the whole, Percy detested secrets. They were slimy and often came back to bite you in the butt. He knew the truth about secrets, how much they hurt you, how much they took from you. Keeping a secret from someone could destroy you.

But keeping a secret _with_ someone—well, that was different.

The next week was the sweetest secret Percy had ever kept.

Annabeth met him at the corner by the bus stop each morning. She would wait for him to catch up and grin widely when he got there, glance around quickly before she stood on tiptoes to peck him on the lips. It made every morning exciting, the thought of her smile on the curb and the way that she bounced up so their lips could meet. It was relatively easy to keep the secret, on the whole. Around their friends, they were Percy and Annabeth, best friends and maybe something just a bit more. By themselves, they were something else altogether.

It was nice to be able to do all their usual activities and call them real dates. The coffee shop was warm and pleasant, and they sat across from each other doing homework and exchanging small kisses as rewards, ignoring the looks they got from strangers. There was something thrilling about holding hands in the back of a nearly empty movie theatre, seeing a movie for the third time and making out obnoxiously just for the heck of it. They went back to their old playground late at night when all the kids where gone, and Percy pushed Annabeth down the slide so she screamed and they kissed on the swings. They stayed out past curfew and roamed the neighbourhood. They didn't spend every moment together, but every moment they spent felt like a dream.

Everything was exciting, so fresh and new. Being young and in love was one of the best feeling in the world, Percy decided. And kissing—real kissing—was amazingly fun. Annabeth texted him in math one morning and he met her by the water fountain, and they kissed in an empty supply closet, her back pressed against the dirty white bricks. They knocked a broom over and shushed each other, heaving breathy laughs and trying not to. They skipped fourth period to kiss under the stairs outside one afternoon, sheltered from the view of passers-by but still exposed enough for the slanted rays of sunshine to collect on Annabeth's face and make her eyes glow silver. She had her hand on his leg in science class under the table, and her gentle fingers dusting easily over his inner thigh were destroying his attempts at concentration.

It lasted two weeks, this whirlwind of secrets and kisses, hiding where they weren't supposed to be. Somehow, Percy felt like a kid again, like Annabeth had given him something back that he'd lost years ago. He told her as much late one Friday night, when they found themselves in Central Park, sitting on a bench and watching strangers drift by in the dark. They were holding hands serenely and it felt like everything had slowed for a second, so Percy was trapped in the moment.

"I know what you mean," Annabeth said, the confession soft. "It's the same for me."

Percy nodded, and they watched another couple pass by, their hands swinging and their voices murmurs against the distant noise of the city. Annabeth spoke again after a minute, once the couple had rounded a corner and disappeared from sight.

"I want them to know."

"Who?"

"I want everyone to know," Annabeth repeated, suddenly certain. "I'm ready for them all to know, I want the whole world to know that you're mine."

Percy released her hand, turning suddenly so he could see her face. He placed a gentle hand on her cheek, like she was made of glass. "Really?"

She nodded, and then grinned widely, nodding again and putting her hand on top of his. "Yeah, really. I want everyone to know that you're my Percy. That you belong to me."

Percy leaned in to kiss her gently. He could feel her smile against his lips and he laughed. "Okay."

He was still surprised, though, when she held out her hand to him on the corner Monday morning, her grin sheepish. He took it gingerly, unsure.

"Are you—are you sure?"

She nodded, eyes twinkling. "Brace yourself."

Percy felt strangely nervous, walking into the school with their hands intertwined. No one really spared them a second glance until they reached Annabeth's locker, where Piper was waiting. Her eyes widened at the sight of them.

"Oh my god," she said, and then said it again, her hands clenching into eager fists, her eyes lighting up, her voice raising to a dangerous level. Percy winced slightly.

"Hi Piper."

Piper was grinning, staring at them. "You're together." It wasn't a question.

Percy looked at Annabeth, and she was smiling. She nodded. Piper squealed, and threw her arms around the both of them.

"I knew this day would come, you idiots are perfect for each other!" She pulled back clumsily, and patted Annabeth's cheek. "I'm so proud of you, you got the boy after all. How long have you been together?"

Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks. "Two weeks?"

"Two _weeks?_ And you didn't think to _tell me?_ "

Percy shrugged, not the least bit sorry. "Sorry," he offered anyways.

"No, you're not."

"No, I'm not."

It took about a week for everyone to realize, to see their clutched hands or little smiles or subtle kisses. Their friends were delighted to see them together. Hazel clapped her hands and kissed them both on the cheeks. Frank was oblivious until Hazel elbowed him in the ribs and hissed it in his ear, and then he smiled and blushed and told them congratulations. ("It's not like we're _married,_ " Annabeth hissed into Percy's ear. "Or pregnant. We're literally just dating.") Jason slapped Percy on the back, Leo called them gross and pretended to gag. Thalia owed Reyna twenty dollars.

"You couldn't have taken like _two more weeks?"_ she asked crossly, pulling out her wallet to hand her girlfriend a twenty. Reyna smirked.

Percy had never quite realized how invested their friends were in seeing them together; it was all a bit exhausting. He wondered sometimes if it would have been better to keep it all a secret, but then he looked over at Annabeth and remembered how nice it was to hold her hand whenever he wanted.

No, he didn't regret any of it.

The sun was shining when they passed through the school's doors and into the neighborhood sometime the next week, and Percy was already wondering how far out of their way they would have to go to get ice cream. Small, brightly coloured spring blossoms were arranged in planters around the school, and the trees were waving their arms in the lazy breeze. Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand unconsciously, glancing around at the beauty of early summer, the fluffy clouds in the periwinkle sky.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was sitting on a bench, her legs crossed and a sketch book on her lap. She was staring dreamily out into the distance, chewing on the end of a pencil. Percy did a double take as his eyes passed over her vivid hair, and when he looked back she was watching him, and her eyes locked on his. They flicked down to Annabeth and Percy's hands, clasped together, and back to Percy's face.

Surprisingly, she smiled.

She clambered to her feet, stuffing her sketch book into a shoulder bag that was bursting at the seams and tucking the chewed pencil behind her ear. She trotted over to them, a grin on her face. It wasn't Percy that she was looking at though. She and Annabeth stared at each other for one quiet moment, and then Annabeth took a step and threw her arms around Rachel's neck. Percy blinked.

Annabeth said something like, "Thank you," muffled into Rachel's masses of hair.

Rachel pulled back and grinned at her, then at Percy. He felt an overwhelming rush of gratitude towards her. "You guys know you're perfect, right?" she asked, sounding genuinely happy for them. "The picture perfect couple or some crap like that."

Annabeth smiled softly. "Thank you," she said again, and Percy got the feeling that she wasn't thanking Rachel for the compliment, but rather something else entirely. He gave Rachel a small side-hug, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It didn't feel right anymore; he'd gotten so used to Annabeth's height and the way she felt under his arms.

"You're a real friend," he told her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, dork," she said, and Percy smiled at the old nickname.

Rachel gave them both a smile and a small wave before skipping off, hands resting on the straps of her bright green backpack and her paint splatted converse slapping on the pavement as she disappeared around a corner. Percy glanced over at Annabeth, who was smiling after in a way that seemed almost nostalgic.

"You don't hate her anymore," Percy observed softly.

Annabeth shook her head. "No," she said simply.

"What changed?"

She looked at him like he was something special. "She had what I wanted."

"Me?"

"Obviously."

Percy nudged her side, grinning, and then draped an arm over her shoulder. He was still delighted that he was tall enough to do that, and she glared at him. "Well now that you have the object of your innermost desire, do you feel like buying him ice cream?"

She ducked out from under his arm and grinned back, mischievous. "In your dreams."

"I'll buy the object of _my_ innermost desire ice cream?" he corrected.

"Rachel is right, you are such a _dork_ , moron."

"Does that mean yes?"

Annabeth considered for a moment, then took his hand. "Lead the way, ice cream freak."

Percy wasn't sure how he had gotten so lucky.

* * *

There was something that Percy loved about highways at night.

Something about the blurred streetlamps that you sped by, no traffic lights for miles on end. It felt like an adventure, flying along forever, nothing but your own headlights to guide the way. The shapes of dark trees on the edge of the road, line after line of white paint on the pavement sailing into the distance.

His favourite part was Annabeth beside him, her head leaned against the cool glass of the window as she sleepily watched the world speed by. It was silent, nothing but the vibrations of the car beneath them and the occasional sound of another car passing beside them to break the quiet that would otherwise stifle them. Percy wondered how far he could get if he drove forever.

It was late one Friday night at the beginning of June, and Percy had the window cracked open so the cool night air could rustle their hair. If they drove far enough, maybe they would be able to see the stars.

Percy had had the idea earlier that evening, sometime after he had gotten home from hanging out with Grover and before dinner was on the table. He had spent the entire evening packing things into the car, and finally it was late enough to leave. He kissed his mom on the cheek as he left, snatching the car keys from a hook above the door.

"I'm going out, Mama," Percy had told her softly, leaning down to kiss Sally's cheek.

She had reached up sleepily from her keyboard to pat his cheek. "Make good choices. Be back by morning, I need the car after lunch. Keep Annabeth safe."

Percy really wasn't sure how he would survive without his mom.

The drive to Annabeth's house only took a few minutes, and he parked as quietly as he could and snuck around the back. There was a tall oak by Annabeth's window, and once Percy had climbed it as a child, desperate for company and help in the early hours of the morning. He stared up the tree for a minute, remembering Annabeth's sloppy makeup job on his bruised cheek, and how it throbbed every time she touched it but he said nothing because her fingers were so gentle on his face. In a few years of memories blurred into a mass of dark horrors, this one stood out like the sun.

He remember for another beat of silence, and then grabbed a low branch and began to climb. The branches creaked more under his weight than he remembered. He heaved himself up to a fork right below the window that he knew belonged to Annabeth, and tapped lightly on the glass twice. When there was no response, he tapped again. He was drumming out an elaborate rhythm on the glass when Annabeth threw the window open, her hair in a crazed halo of curls around her and expression murderous. Her eyebrows lifted slightly at the sight of Percy, but she glared at him anyways.

"It is 12:30 in the morning, what do you _want?_ "

Percy grinned. "To take you out. Let's go somewhere!"

Annabeth squinted at him, rubbing her eyes. " _Percy_ , it's very late and I had a very long week."

"Aw, come on Annabeth. It'll be fun, it's beautiful outside. It's an _adventure_."

He saw her hesitate. Annabeth couldn't resist an adventure. Finally, she sighed, relenting. "Fine, you idiot. Just… let me change first or something."

Percy looked her up and down, ignoring her pink cheeks. She was wearing cotton shorts with flowers on them that Percy was pretty sure she'd owned when they were ten, and an oversized t-shirt that might have been his. He didn't remember giving it to her. "You look fine to me. Just throw a sweater on over that you'll be great."

"Percy, these shorts are for children."

"You're not eighteen yet, you child. I don't care, throw on some sweat pants or something."

"Ugh, I detest you. Fine. _Fine_."

Percy grinned victoriously as Annabeth darted across her room to grab an oversized Hogwarts hoodie and a pair of sweatpants from her closet, patted her hair down a bit in the mirror, pulled on a pair of sneakers, and then clambered nimbly out of the window to join him. Her eyes were bright and awake now, and she smiled easily at him.

"Okay, let's go. Take me on an adventure, Romeo."

That was how they ended up in the soft seats of Sally's old Volkswagen, speeding down the highway in sleepy silence. The initial excitement of the adventure had worn off, and Percy thought that Annabeth might be drifting to sleep against the window beside him. It was okay, though. It was past one in the morning, and he knew that he could wake her up once they got there.

Percy still hadn't told Annabeth where they were going. It was going to be a surprise, hopefully a meaningful one. He was taking her to see the stars. Back through the years.

It was nearly two in the morning when they pulled off the highway, and another half hour of bumping along a gravel road until Percy switched off the engine and Annabeth sat up, blinking her eyes and glancing out the window into the darkness. She yawned, rubbing her fists into her eyes like a small child. Percy grinned. There was moonlight leaking through the panes of glass of the windows, and it bathed Annabeth in silver. She looked like a goddess. A very tired goddess in a Hogwarts hoodie and sweatpants, but a goddess all the same.

Percy opened his door and hopped out of the car, greeted with the hum of nighttime insects and the distant chirping of crickets. He strode lightly around to Annabeth's side of the car, gravel crunching under his feet. She pushed her door open as he approached, and he grabbed her hand to pull her up. She stumbled slightly, her grip on his hand tightening as she balanced herself. Then he led her around to the back of the car and popped the trunk, and she judged him silently as he pulled his supplies from the trunk. A flashlight, some bug spray. An inflatable mattress. A couple enormous sleeping bags. An oversized pillow that he tucked into her arm.

She raised an eyebrow. "We're sleeping here?"

"Yup," he said cheerfully.

"I still don't get why we're here, Percy," she said as he pulled her along a tiny dirt path in between the trees. The flashlight lighted a large circle of dark soil and plants around them, but the moon was so bright that they barely needed it.

Percy adjusted the sleeping bags in his arms. "You'll see soon. I hope."

They immerged into a clearing, bathed in moonlight. Trees lined the edges and early-summer grass was soft and green, though in the dark it looked almost black. There was a fire pit in the middle of the clearing, and some sort of fence bordering it off hidden between distant trees. Annabeth glanced around quickly, and then turned back to Percy.

"I still don't—"

"Just… look around."

Annabeth gave him a funny look but humoured him, spinning in slow circles and taking in the clearing. The dark trees, the chirping crickets. She looked up, and the sky was clear. Millions of stars shone down.

"What am I looking— _oh._ "

She had figured it out.

Percy couldn't contain his smile as she turned to him, her expression awash in wonder.

"Percy, how do you _remember_ this?"

He gave her a shrug. "I remember all my best memories."

It _was_ one of his best memories—maybe one of his earliest, too. He remembered flashes of it, this little campsite, Sally's blue tent, sneaking out with Annabeth to lie in the grass and stare up at the stars, naming constellations. He could almost recall the taste of the innocence he had then, nothing but a blonde haired girl beside him and a sky full of possibilities.

Annabeth's eyes were shining, glossy with tears. "How did you find this place again?" she whispered hoarsely.

Another half-shrug. "I remembered the camping trip. I asked my mom about the campsite, and she told me that she discovered it with—with my dad before I was even born. It's not an official campsite, or anything, just this little clearing they found at the end of an exit they took for the sake of adventure or something…something like that. A lot of people come here, I think."

She spun around again, awed. "I love it. I love it. I—Percy, you're perfect, I love you."

Her expression froze. It was the first time she had said it since their confessions on the beach, and it felt like the first time ever. Percy suddenly thought his face was going to split, his smile was so wide.

"I love you, too."

They stared at each other across the clearing for a moment, grinning stupidly at each other, and then Percy finally broke the silence.

"Let's blow up the mattress."

It took several long minutes of huffing into the inflatable mattress and passing it back and forth between them to get it to a decent size. Annabeth refused to give Percy a turn at first, and blew into it until she got so dizzy that she started swaying. Percy caught her as she fell and they both collapsed under her weight, giggling hysterically as they fell into the soft grass and watched the stars twinkle above them, drunk on the night air.

Once the mattress was blown up Percy tossed the pillows on to it, brushing stay grass off of them. Annabeth squealed and threw a sleeping back onto the mattress, then dove on top of it, snuggling into it until all Percy could see was her head, still giggling madly. Percy stood above watching her for a moment. He had brought two sleeping bags, but the one Annabeth was in was really big…

Annabeth gave him a funny look, squinting with sleep-puffy eyes. "Are you getting in?"

Percy grinned and scrambled onto the mattress to squeeze in beside her. The sleeping back fit both of them fairly easily—albeit slightly snugly. Annabeth immediately snuggled up to him, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. Percy stroked her hair absently for a moment, feeling the warmth from her body pressed up against his, her soft breaths tickling his neck. Her face was so peaceful in the moment that he had a sudden desire just to touch her face, feel how soft her cheeks were, count how many of those fluttering eyelashes there were.

"Stop staring at me, nerd," she mumbled, and Percy started. He thought that she was asleep already. Like she was reading his mind, she opened her eyes and popped herself up on her elbow, smiling gently. "I'm not sleeping yet. I didn't let you drive me all the way out here to fall asleep right away."

"Okay," said Percy, his words quiet and hoarse with tiredness. There was no one around them for miles, but it was so quiet that he felt he should whisper. Maybe it was so they wouldn't wake the stars. "What should we do?"

Annabeth and placed a hand on his chest, her smile mischievous. "I have some ideas."

So they kissed under the stars, sitting on an air mattress in a tiny camping site far away from anything. He kissed her lips and her eyelids and her jaw, and she giggled, kissed him back. Kissed his neck, nibbled his ear. He could feel the ghost of her tongue on his bottom lip, her lips, her tongue, her hands, everywhere, everywhere, _everywhere_.

He wanted to remember her like this forever.

"Tell me you love me," Annabeth breathed into his ear, her fingers tapping patterns down his chest.

Percy shuddered a bit, closing his eyes. "I love you, Annabeth. I love you so damn _much_ , and I have for so long, you don't… you don't even know."

She smiled, her lips soft against his skin. "Tell me how long."

Percy tried to remember the first time he realized he loved her. It was almost hard to remember a time when he hadn't. "I don't even really know. I think some part of me knew since—since we were kids. I just—didn't know it was different than how you're supposed to feel towards a best friend."

Her lips were still moving. "How did you find out that it was?"

Percy was silent for a moment. "Rachel told me. The night of the dance. She told me that I was in love with you."

Annabeth stopped, looked at him with wide, dark eyes. "She did?"

Percy nodded, and Annabeth sighed. "God, will I even stop owing that girl _everything?_ "

"As far as I'm concerned, I don't owe anyone but _you_ for you."

She smiled, but it was a bit distracted. "And that's when… that's when you realized."

He tried to remember. Then slowly, he shook his head. "No. That was when I first got the idea. I thought—I mean I had known that I liked you when we were younger but I never thought it went that far. And then—that happened and then… then we were out for coffee and you were sitting on the swings in the sunset and all that and…" Percy swallowed, shrugging a little bashfully. "I loved you."

Annabeth kissed him again, this one slow and gentle. "I always loved you. I didn't know until you told me, though. I didn't believe any of my friends when they tried to tell me that we were idiots or that we loved each other or… something. Or maybe I did know, I don't know. I just could never—I could never think it. Maybe I was secretly sure you still hated me… maybe… I don't know. It doesn't make sense."

She bowed her head, ashamed, and Percy pushed aside the tangles of her hair to kiss her again. He understood. There were some secrets that you kept even from yourself. "I'm sure that I love you."

She smiled and whispered it back. "I love you, too."

It felt nice to whisper it under their blanket of stars like a secret, back and forth. _I love you, I love you, I love you._

Percy wasn't sure how late it was. He wasn't sure if time really existed here. Annabeth settled back on the pillow to look up at the stars. She lifted her arm lazily, pointing out the constellations above them so Percy could see.

"Orion," she told him, her voice soft. It felt like a memory. "And Hercules… there's Pegasus, as usual. That one… that one is Perseus. Like you." She smiled over at him, and he smiled back. "There's Ursa Major, your favourite, the big dipper."

"More?" Percy asked, and she shook her head slightly, though he wasn't sure if it was in answer to his question or not.

"Didn't we have a star?" Annabeth asked, scanning the skies. "Didn't we decide that one of these stars should be our star?"

"I think we might have. I don't remember, um. It was a bright one."

Annabeth looked thoughtful. "We didn't choose the north star, did we? Of course we did. That's cliché."

Percy nodded in agreement. "Baby-us already knew we were written in the stars," he said in a mock-falsetto.

"Cliché," she grumbled again.

He shoved her, and she laughed.

He wasn't sure when they fell asleep, warm in their sleeping bag sheltered by the sky, lulled by the breeze in the trees. The last thing he was aware of was Annabeth's steady breaths on his neck, her eyes closed. She'd fallen asleep with a smile.

* * *

There were birds chirping when Percy woke up, and morning sun filled the clearing, fresh and clean. The air smelled like dew. Annabeth was tucked into his chest, fast asleep against him, her hair swept across her face and stuck to her lips. He brushed it away, and kissed her forehead before closing his eyes again.

This was living.

* * *

 **A/N: Holy shit it's been a long time. Hopefully all this disgustingly gooey fluff makes up for it. ;)**

 **Honestly I don't really have a great excuse for not updating for so long. I mean, I've been in two musicals and like a bunch of competitions since I last updated, so I haven't been doing _nothing_. Also I wrote! a oneshot! an HP one! (It's Jily and it's called **_Two Lines_ **read it if you like Marauder era** **fics!) I've been working on a long PJO oneshot, too, that I meant to finish like a month ago, but I hopefully will finish soon so stay tuned for that.**

 **hm let's see my dear friend herecomesthepun wrote a great oneshot called** _two strangers learn to fall in love again_ **for a special anniversary and TheWritingManiac wrote this crazy awesome AU called** _when the sun came up (you were looking at me)_ **so those are both amazing I would check those out if I were you because they're inCREDIBLE (I LOVE YOU GUYS)**

 **ALSO huge thanks to all of you guys for being so patient while I was taking forever to write this and for PMing me and stuff you guys are seriously the best. This story only has two chapters left (one if you don't count the epilogue) and I seriously can't believe it. So if you're still here THANK YOU SO MUCH. Also thanks to my girl TheWritingManic for catching all my mistake and stuff I love you lots.**

 **okay this is a very long AN whoops. Well, if you're still here and enjoying the story (I went full circle did you notice this was like chapter six the sequel) leave me a review and I should hopefully be back soon! HAPPY SPRING!**

 **-GGW**


	31. Final Sunset

He found her on the swing set.

She was swinging gently, feet dangling above the ground, her head leaned on the chain. Percy sat down beside her carefully and the swing creaked. Annabeth turned her head to look at him, a bittersweet smile on her lips and her eyes distant. Instinctively, he reached out to take her hand.

"I wasn't sure if you would find me here." She looked away again, her gaze too far away to be watching the rusted play structure in front of them.

Percy scoffed. "Please, this is one of your spots, where else would I find you?" When Annabeth looked skeptical, he sighed and relented. "Fine, it was the fourth place that I looked. You disappeared on us, though. Seriously, you left me alone with Piper and she is a monster when she's in preparation mode. I swear, she almost attacked me with the curling iron."

Usually, Annabeth would laugh at a joke like that (however bad it actually was) but today she simply quirked a half-smile. "Sorry."

"Hey, what's up with you today?" Percy frowned, trying to move his swing closer to hers. "We graduate high school in three hours, I assumed you would be completely pumped. You're Valedictorian and everything, shouldn't you be—I don't know—rehearsing your moving and heartwarming speech?"

She shrugged. "I did that yesterday. And… I don't know what it is—it just feels like all of this is an ending and after high school is over I'm never going to see any of these people that I love again and I keep wondering if it's all worth it."

There was a beat of silence as Percy tried to figure out an appropriate rebuttal to this statement. "Okay, Annabeth, we're graduating from high school in like, three hours, you're supposed to be completely excited because we're going to free and all. You aren't supposed to have the existential crisis until later."

She huffed a tired breath that was somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. "Okay, well, move it up in my schedule, will you?"

He chuckled at that, falling silent and following her gaze out to the play structure. There were a few kids playing on the slides, running back up to the top every time they reached the bottom, squealing as they flew down. A simple, innocent pleasure that Percy wished he was still young enough to feel.

(Okay, who was he kidding, he still loved slides. Annabeth was rubbing off on him.)

"Alright, maybe I can allot you like twenty more minutes for your existential crisis, but if we don't get back and dressed soon you know Piper will _literally_ kill us. Look at you, you're not even a little bit ready."

Annabeth looked down at herself, irritated. She was wearing one of Percy's oversized t-shirts that fell down past her shorts and her hair flopped to one side in its messy bun. "That's not true, I'm wearing eyeliner."

"Piper will murder you. Slowly and painfully. And also me, but like. Mostly you."

"I _know_. We'll go back in a minute, I promise. I just… kind of wanted to go back to where it all began, you know? Like this place holds so many memories. I'm not sure if I want to give them up yet."

Percy rolled his eyes. "What are you even talking about? You don't have to forget any memories from here. I can actually think of a lot I would _like_ to forget."

She ducked her head. "Yeah, you're right. This is all silly. I just… felt like I needed a moment to catch my breath before everything ended, you know? Here, we can go back now and I'll be quiet when Piper yells at me and everything."

Percy smiled. "You're adorable. Now come _on!_ We graduate high school in a few hours, get _excited!_ "

Annabeth sighed dramatically as Percy pulled her to her feet. "Fine, fine. We're graduating high school in a few hours. I'm very excited." She paused, and then her eyes widened, realisation washing over. "Oh my god. Oh my _god_ , Percy we're graduating high school in a few hours! We—we're going to be done! All of it! It's all going to be over!" She squeaked, clenching her fists under her chin. "I have so much to _do,_ what am I doing—let's _go_!"

She grabbed his hand and he laughed as she pulled him off across the patchy grass of the field and back towards Piper's car, which he'd followed her in. As she motored on ahead of him, he spared one last glance back to the red-bricked building that had been the host of many childhood woes. _Huh_. Maybe he saw her point about leaving stuff behind.

But he was _graduating high school_ in exactly one-hundred-and-eighty-nine minutes, so he had bigger things to worry about.

* * *

Predictably, Piper was more than a little annoyed when they both burst back into the door of Annabeth's house seventeen minutes later. After a lot of very angry muttering, Annabeth was swept off so they could do hair and makeup and what Piper liked to call 'costume checks'. The girls locked themselves in the bathroom, and Percy wandered into Annabeth's bedroom, feeling very thankful that he didn't care enough to prepare that much.

The door to Annabeth's room creaked opened easily, and Percy couldn't supress his smile as he stepped in. He always loved going into Annabeth's room, because it looked almost the same as it had when they were seven. It was like a leap back in time. It was always beautifully neat—if you gave it a quick glance. Percy knew that dirty clothes and old school projects were crammed into her drawers and under the bed. Her walls were baby-blue, adorned with crooked photographs and a few old drawings and posters that had been taped up years ago and had somehow never been taken down. All of the surfaces in her room were cluttered, but in a way that was almost organized.

His favourite part, though, was the triptych that hung above her bed. He bounced down onto her bed, messing up the carefully made covers, and scooted over to analyse it for the millionth time. The first picture was the both of them as chubby toddlers, sitting together on the beach. It had been taken the moment before a disaster, and the glee on tiny Annabeth's face was hilarious as she held a handful of sand above an unaware Percy's head.

The second picture was them at maybe eight years old, before Gabe or any of the events that had followed. Percy had his arm slung over her shoulder and they were both leaned into towards the camera, grinning gap-toothed grins. Percy had something that looked like chocolate ice cream smeared on his cheek and around his mouth.

The final photo had been taken about a year ago, and they were sitting on the front steps of the school. Annabeth was laughing at some unheard and obviously bad joke, her hair blowing into her face, and Percy was grinning like he had just won the lottery. Neither of them were looking at the camera, but at each other, and somehow that made it all the better.

Honestly, he was just so fricking lucky to have this girl.

Percy lay down on Annabeth's pillow for a moment, closing his eyes and letting a wave of nostalgia wash over him. It made his heart ache a bit.

Annabeth's dress for the after-party was lying carefully on the bed, and Percy picked it up with a grin. It was long, dark purple and simple—floor length, halter top, purple waistband—and he knew that she would look beautiful in it. He buried his head in the fabric. It even smelled like her.

"Um, dude? Am I interrupting something?"

Percy's head snapped up. Jason was standing in Annabeth's doorway, already fully dressed in a dress suit and leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed and an amused smirk on his face. Percy placed the dress back down on the bed very carefully, smoothing it out before standing up and clearing his throat.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Why were you smelling Annabeth's dress?"

Percy scratched the back of his neck. "Um. It smelled like her?"

Jason snorted. "Right. So, we're all planning to go off and do something crazy before grad, you in? Leo is outside waiting."

Nervously, Percy glanced up at the clock on Annabeth's wall. If he was late to the ceremony, he knew he would never hear the end of it. "Do we have time?"

"Of course." Jason waved his hand dismissively. "We have tons of time, just maybe wear your suit and stuff there. And grab your gown and stuff so we can change on the way back. I mean, if we have to."

Grinning and rolling his eyes, Percy gave in. "Fine, fine, let's go! Jeeze, what happened to Jason Mister-I-cry-if-my-mark-is-below-ninety goody two shoes and all that jazz?"

Jason shoved him out the door as Percy snatched up his gown from the floor. "Shut up, that was years ago. Besides, I already graduated with top marks, the teachers can't change that now."

"Fair point."

Percy and Jason emerged from Annabeth's house a few minutes later, after Percy had gathered a few various possessions and changed into his suit, and they'd both shouted a goodbye after the girls, who were still locked in the bathroom. Leo was waiting in the driver's seat of his convertible, also fully dressed in formal attire and tapping his fingers idly on the wheel, and Jason called shotgun as they ran outside. They climbed onto the seats, slamming the doors behind them.

"Guys!" protested Leo. "Careful! You wouldn't want to hurt Festus here, I spent hours working on him." He patted the side of the car affectionately, and Percy rolled his eyes.

"You named your car?"

Leo scoffed. "Um, yeah, of course I did. Every car needs a super cool name or it isn't _legit_. Festus means happy or something… I think…"

"Geek."

"Shut up, Grace."

Jason pressed his lips together, stifling a grin as Leo revved the engine and pulled out into traffic, the car purring softly beneath them.

Admittedly, the car was pretty impressive. Leo had found the old 1964 Ford Mustang at some used car dealership in terrible condition, bought it for an unbelievably cheap price, and spent the next year fixing it up so it was in the stellar shape that was hurdling them down the road at the moment. Leo had even painted the car gold, and it shone like a beacon in the morning sunshine. Percy had to admit it was pretty magnificent—even if he certainly wouldn't say it out loud. Leo's ego was big enough as it was.

"Where are we going?" Percy shouted from the backseat, because it was necessary to shout when the wind was blowing in your face and Leo refused to put the top down.

"Don't know!" Leo yelled back, taking a hand off the wheel to wave it lazily in the air. Jason grabbed his wrist and put his hand back on the wheel.

"Watch traffic, dumbass!"

Leo sent a meaningful glance quickly back over his shoulder at Percy. "Dude, next time you call shotgun so I don't have this lame-o sitting beside me."

Percy rolled his eyes again.

After a few more minutes of speeding along in silence—they tried to put the radio on, but it appeared to be broken—Leo suddenly swerved right at an intersection so they were bumping down a side street. Jason and Percy both made loud noises of protest as the car screeched.

"Dude!" Percy gasped as soon as they were safely around the corner. "You are going to kill us before we even get to graduation!"

"Leo is a terrible driver," huffed Jason, flipping blond hair out of his face. "I can't believe he even passed the test. Did you even signal?" he asked, directing his attention back to Leo, who simply sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I can be a _great_ driver if I want to. Come on guys, live a little. It's not like I've ever crashed this car."

"Yeah, but you only have to do that once," muttered Jason, crossing his arms.

Percy leaned forwards in between the front seats. "Why did you turn so suddenly, anyways? See something shiny on the road?"

"Inspiration struck. I have decided where we are going." He swung violently around another corner and Jason squeaked.

Percy waited for a moment, and when Leo stayed silent he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "And I suppose you're not going to tell us?"

"I am, in fact, not. You are correct."

Luckily, it didn't take them much longer to make it to Leo's location of choice, and the pulled into a tattered parking lot in front of a tall, brightly coloured building. Leo grinned at them as if waiting for praise.

"Laser tag?" Jason asked incredulously. "We're going to spend our last few hours of being official high school students playing _laser tag?_ "

Leo leapt out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him despite his earlier complaints of the same action. He started towards the building as the other two got out, exchanging skeptical looks.

"You forgot to lock your car, Valdez!" Jason called after him. Leo turned around so he was walking backwards and chucked his keys across the parking lot to Jason, who instinctively reached up and caught them before scowling after him.

"Thanks, Jason!" yelled Leo, and Jason flipped him off before running back to lock up the car.

While the outside of the laser tag building was bright and a bit cringeworthy, Percy had to admit the inside was actually pretty cool. It looked like it had once been an old warehouse, and the bare grey bricks that made up the walls were covered with artistic spray-paint in intentional graffiti swirls and images. (Which made it more wall art than graffiti, but it was the _style_ that counted.) They had several leaderboards on the walls, listing assortments of crazy names in order of number of kills and accuracy and team spirit, and the guy behind the counter had a bright green mohawk and gauged earrings, and stared at them as though unimpressed. Which, in retrospect seemed fair, as they were all wearing fancy suits for laser tag.

Leo, luckily, was not scared, and slammed several twenties down on the counter with his signature smile. The guy at the cashier quirked an eyebrow, and a few moments later they were gearing up and choosing ridiculous usernames for their game and then they were entering through the doors into a dark room. Leo gave a yell, pumped his fist with the gun up in the air and charged off through the fake trees. Jason gave Percy a shrug before sneaking off in the opposite direction, holding his gun up like he was a detective in a TV show. Percy rolled his eyes and started his own trek through the obstacles.

The room was arranged so that it looked like a jungle, completely full of fake cardboard trees, ramps and walls so that you couldn't see who was around the corner. Very quickly, Percy forgot that it was supposed to be a game for children and they had a specific time limit and lost himself in the game. They played one round, and then another four, and time got lost somewhere among the colourful lights and lasers that tracked them around the arena. There was some sort of ominous music playing overhead the whole time, and it made Percy's heart beat faster. It felt like being in a movie.

After a few rounds, everyone's tactics and strategies started to become obvious. Jason was practical and precise. He planned out every move, shot only when he was sure to win. He was the most accurate out of any of them and every action had a motive behind it. Leo was… a little less planned out. He yelled a lot and shot at anything that moved, which turned out to be a fairly decent tactic, though he killed quite a few of his own team members along the way. Percy was somewhere in between. Shooting when necessary, not planning out every action. Easily destroying the competition.

Percy had to give Leo credit, it was a terrific way to spend their last moments as high school students. One last moment of immaturity before they were high school graduates. It felt good to be as immature as possible for a bit, forget that they were almost adults. Percy and Leo teamed up to steal Jason's glasses one round, which completely destroyed his stealth, and Leo and Percy choked on laughter as Jason stumbled around blindly and then accidently shot one of his team members. At one point in their third round, Leo tried to take a small child that was also playing hostage in the hopes of using it to win the round, and was promptly yelled at for several straight minutes by very angry mother.

In their fifth round, Leo and Jason teamed up to corner Percy against a wall after he managed to shoot both of them multiple times without ever being caught. They were just both raising their guns to shoot when Percy's phone buzzed and he pulled it out, his eyes going wide.

"If you think that's going to _work_ , you're wrong," Leo told him, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously. "You're a terrible actor."

"I'm not _acting_ Leo, it's almost two-forty and Annabeth is _pissed_ we're not there yet! We have to leave before we miss the ceremony!"

Leo and Jason exchanged suddenly alarmed glances, lowering their guns. Percy took the opportunity to raise his own gun and shoot them both. "Come _on_ , guys, let's go! Also—" he grinned smugly. "I win."

Smirking, he sprinted away from Leo and Jason's cries of protest.

The car ride back to the school was somehow even more chaotic than the ride there, which was a feat in itself. Leo seemed to take each turn as a challenge, and Percy almost fell out of the car as he tried to pull his gown over his head and Leo whipped around a corner. The ceremony was in their school auditorium, and they arrived in the parking lot just a few minutes before it began. Annabeth and Piper were waiting on the front steps, and they both leapt to their feet as they saw the boys whip around the corner and perfectly into a parking spot. Percy crammed his square cap on his head as he sprinted towards the girls.

" _Finally!_ " gasped Annabeth as he came to a halt in front of her. She reached up to adjust the collar of his gown and straighten his cap, all the while talking at about a mile a minute. "Where _were_ you guys, you just disappeared and then you didn't _text_ me for like, two hours, and the ceremony starts in like two minutes, are you even dressed up?"

Percy blinked, and looked down at himself. "Um. Yes? I'll tell you later, okay let's _go_."

He took her hand, and they ran up the stairs and threw the front door open, and they finished school the same way they had started it: side-by-side.

* * *

Everyone arrived at the beach sometime after awards had been presented and caps had been thrown into the air.

The smell of sea spray was on the wind as everyone piled out of the cars and into the sand, and Percy shut his eyes and breathed it in, letting a lifetime of memories wash over him. He had gathered plenty of bad memories over the years, but not a single one of them came from the beach. Every memory that involved the wind and the waves was as sweet as honey.

Annabeth reached down with one hand, gently intertwining their fingers and brushing away a piece of hair that the wind had swept into her face with the other. The breeze surrounded her, making her blue skirt wave and her curls rustle and her eyes light up.

How convenient it was, that they had placed the final hurrah of high school here, along with all the best memories of the world.

Beside him, Annabeth squeezed his hand, grinning eagerly out to the horizon. Percy looked down affectionately at her bright eyes, the way they sparkled in the like the waves in the sun. He still didn't know how he got lucky enough to know her. Or to love her. Because that made him luckier still.

She bounced on the balls of her feet, speaking in Percy's ear above the chatter of their friends. "I can't think of a _single_ place that I would rather spend this evening."

It had been Piper's idea for to gather the whole big group of them—their usual group of seven or eight and the addition of dates—to head to the beach after the party was done, once the sun was already hung low in the sky and the loudest of the children who played in the sand were gone. Gusts of wind made the waves dance and play, blew the biggest clouds away so the sky was a wide expanse of dusty blue.

Annabeth was wearing heels that made her almost as tall as him, matte and dark purple. Percy watched as she tugged them off and dropped them one by one, nestling her toes into the soft sand. Without the shoes, the soft fabric of her dress dusted the shore, trailing waves of silky purple and getting sand caught up in the tulle.

She glanced up, grinning as he blinked down at her. "You like the dress, don't you?"

He shook his head slightly in awe. "It's gorgeous. I mean—I mean _you're_ gorgeous. You're just… beautiful."

She reached up to lace her hands in his hair, murmuring above the waves. "And you're too kind."

She kissed him, passionately, and for a moment they stood like that, wrapped around each other, lost somewhere in their own little world.

"I love you," she murmured against his lips.

He held her just a little tighter. "I love you, too."

"Yo, lovebirds!" It was Thalia, yelling at them from across the beach. They broke apart and exchanged knowing looks. "Leave some of our innocence alive, would ya?"

"Shut up, Thalia," Annabeth yelled back at her, and then leaned back in to kiss Percy again just to irritate her. Percy couldn't help but smile against Annabeth's mouth when he heard Thalia whine, "Piper, make them _stop_ it," drawing out all her syllables.

They broke apart for real when Piper marched over and glared at them, tapping her feet until they extracted themselves sheepishly from each other's arms.

Piper took Annabeth's hand and led her a few feet away for good measure. "Great, now that you too are done having sex in front of everyone, we can move on with our evening."

"Drama queen," said Annabeth, to which Piper gasped appropriately.

"I am _not_ a drama queen, I just don't believe in your gross PDA."

"Unless it's you and Jason," Percy added with a smirk.

"That's different. We're cute, you guys are just gross. Besides, we're going to play volleyball so I'm going to need you two to keep your hands to yourself for a moment, alright? Thanks."

Still holding Annabeth's wrist, she started dragging her across the beach, and Percy scooped Annabeth's abandoned shoes up and bounced after them. Annabeth made a loud noise of protest as Piper dragged her along and she stumbled over a rock.

"Pipes we're too dressed up for volleyball, my dress goes all the way down to the ground. I can't _run_ in it."

Piper waved her hand dismissively. "Sure you can! Your dress has a slit in the side and everything, it's perfect for playing sports."

"That's debatable, but okay."

A volleyball was produced, and the whole group of them gathered around the net. Someone decided that they should play boys against girls, which sparked an entire argument about who had the advantage because there were more girls than boys. ("Why couldn't you just be straight for an _hour_ , Thalia?" "Okay first of all, Leo, shut up.") Eventually Reyna, who had been graduated for an entire year but had been dragged along with Thalia anyways, was placed on the boys team so all was even, and they were five-against-five: Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, Thalia and Calypso against Percy, Jason, Leo, Frank and Reyna.

As it turned out, Annabeth could play perfectly well in a dress, and she darted around racking up point after point for her team. Percy found himself glad that Reyna ended up on their team in the end, because she seemed to be the only one who could rival Annabeth at all. Despite the flowing skirt of her dress Annabeth only tripped on it once, and it was a rather spectacular fall that sent her flying several feet before she collapsed and rolled in the sand a few times. Once it was confirmed that she was alright (albeit a little bruised) Percy collapsed with laughter and Annabeth glared at him from across the sand, propped up on her elbows.

But in true Annabeth fashion, she got up, dusted the sand out of her dress and continued playing.

Eventually, everyone but Annabeth and Reyna gave up on the volleyball and settled in the sand watching as the two girls whipped the ball back and forth. Thalia and Percy got into an arm wrestling match about whose girlfriend would win. After several minutes of silence apart from Reyna and Annabeth spitting taunts at each other, Piper lifted her head from Jason's shoulder.

"I'm bored, who wants to go get hotdogs?"

There was a general murmur of consensus, and everyone scrambled to their feet. On the volleyball court, Annabeth promptly dropped the ball.

"Someone said hotdogs? I'm in, I am starving!" She sprinted across the sand to join the group, holding fists of her skirt up so that she could run freely. Reyna yelled loudly after her in protest.

"Hey, I was winning!"

When they arrived at the hotdog stand the old woman behind the counter gave them all funny looks, which Percy supposed was justified since they were all red-faced, sandy, and sweaty, in full formal graduation wear. It took quite a few minutes of bustle and shouting over each other for everyone to get their orders placed in; Frank made Hazel order for him and Reyna and Thalia argued about who could eat more hotdogs. Soon enough, though, they all had hotdogs overflowing with condiments in their palms, and Calypso, who had come as Leo's date, collected several handfuls of napkins to bring back with them. Which almost immediately turned out to be a smart move, as Leo dripped relish onto his crisp white shirt.

They ate their hotdogs in the sand, everyone leaning on everyone else and staring out to the ocean. It was the perfect contrast between formal and casual, gowns and hotdogs, and the sand and the sea. Napkins were thrown around and Percy knew by the end of the evening everyone's clothing would probably need to be dry cleaned, but it didn't matter because the night was young and their laughter drifted up, up, up to the sky.

Once everyone's food was gone and the napkins had been dutifully gathered and thrown away, Piper leapt to her feet with new vigour, and the rest of the gang stared up at her lazily.

"Let's go swimming!" she said, waving her arm out towards the crashing waves. The rest of them exchanged disbelieving looks, and Thalia snorted out loud.

It was Annabeth who finally spoke up. "Pipes, no one here has a bathing suit with them."

"So?" Piper was still flinging her arms around, tipsy on the evening air. "Just wear your underwear, they're basically the same thing." She pointed at Annabeth dramatically. "I know for a fact that _yours_ match."

Annabeth glanced over at Percy and shrugged, so he seized the opportunity to take over. "Right, but none of us have towels either?"

She huffed irritably. "So drip dry, air dry, whatever. Come _on_ guys, why don't you live a little?"

And perhaps it was the repetition of Leo's earlier words, or the gusts of fresh night air going off the sea, or even the feeling of having closed an entire chapter of his life, but something made Percy get to his feet and face the rest of the group.

"I mean, why not? There's not really anyone else here, anyways."

Slowly, everyone looked at each other and shrugged, and then they were all scrambling to their feet and dumping their formal wear in the sand. And somehow, as everyone charged towards the surf, their hands connected and they all fell into the waves as one.

It felt almost liberating, splashing through the water in nothing but their underwear, throwing seawater into each other's faces and falling laughing into the sea.

It reminded Percy of a day years ago, before everything in his life had fallen into place, when they had run into Annabeth and her friends at the beach and played fully-clothed in the ocean.

They always ended up here, didn't they? At the beach, in the waves, under the huge blue sky.

Everyone played in the water for far longer than they needed to, sitting on each other's shoulders and trying to knock one another off, and shrieks rang out into the air with every success.

Eventually, everyone got cold and decided it was time to get out, as the colours of sunset painted the darkening sky. They settled once more in the sand, and it stuck to everyone's bare legs as the wind picked up and raised goosebumps on dripping arms. Percy watched Annabeth shiver as he pulled his shirt back over his head, letting the material fall down on his chest and soak up the stray water droplets. He shook his head, doglike, to try and rid it of the water that was currently dripping down his cheeks.

He settled down in the sand next to Annabeth, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Why don't you put your dress back on if you're cold?" he asked softly, and she scoffed.

"And get it all water-damaged? No thank you."

She was shivering under his arm, though, and Percy glanced around until he found his suit jacket to drape over her shoulders. She looked up at him gratefully, affection clear in her gaze. He kissed her nose, and she giggled.

They kissed quietly in the sand for a bit, and this time none of their friends seemed to mind; they were all far too wrapped up in themselves and each other. Finally, Annabeth pulled back with a sigh, leaning her head on his shoulder again to watch the sun sink below the horizon, throwing bright hues of red and orange across the earth.

"It kind of feels like… the end of our childhood or something, doesn't it," Annabeth muttered, and Percy wasn't entirely sure whether or not she was speaking to him. "Like the end of an era. I feel like we're going to move on and lose all these people and forget everything that brought us here."

She was staring out into the red-and-orange stained water pensively, and Percy kissed her neck. "I don't know what we'll lose, but I promise you I won't let us forget. We'll have the memories forever.

Annabeth turned so that their eyes met, green on grey. "Yeah? You promise?"

And with his arms around her waist, a world of ocean ahead of them and a world of city behind, nothing had ever felt so possible. "I do. I promise."

They watched the sun sink down and slip away below the horizon, and it felt like an ending, the finishing of an entire chapter of life

Or maybe it was just the beginning of something new. Really, who could say?

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N: And as I sat on the deck with this story open on my laptop on my lap and watched the sun set over the park it felt like an ending.**

 **In other, non-metaphorical words, this was the last chapter of the story! I mean, apart from the epilogue, don't leave me yet I still have the epilogue to write! I've been implementing a 1K word a day goal for like the last week so hopefully the epilogue will be up like next week, so stay tuned! It will be cuTE!**

 **Also I just wanna say thanks so much to everyone who keeps sticking with me even though I often forget about this story for several months in between chapters. Huge thanks to Rachel for being the bestest beta and friend ever and Mia for being amazing and excited about my stories and also happy kings cross anniversary.**

 **In other news, last week I published a long oneshot that I wrote called _Theatre Kids Never Die_ and it would mean the world to me if you felt like checking it out and leaving me a fave or a review! It was super fun to write. **

**So that's all for today folks, leave me a review if you enjoyed the chap and I shall see you one last time next week for the epilogue. Love you all!**

 **-GGW**

 **(P.S I JUST REMEMBERED THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR FIVE HUNDRED REVIEWS THAT WAS SUCH A COOL MOMENT LOVE YOU!)**


	32. Epilogue

**Four years later**

Annabeth groaned, leaning back in her chair to wrack her hands through her hair. She was beginning her fifth consecutive hour of studying, and the general excitement of learning new things had worn off to boredom of epic proportions. Her head was starting to ache.

God, she needed a break.

So getting a degree in architecture was difficult. She had anticipated that. What she _hadn't_ anticipated were the hours upon hours she had to put into studying to get the perfect grades she had become so accustomed to in high school. The very first exam she took in college she bombed so epically that she only got out of bed three days later, after Percy had started to get seriously concerned.

Now, she studied. For hours before every exam, until she could hammer out every tiny detail of every definition. She was every professor's favourite, top of every class. Just how she liked it. And boy, did she like it.

Still, once the hours had passed it started to get unbearable. She twitched her nose and scratched her eyebrow and continued reading. She should get up, go to the bathroom, get some water.

She should memorize just a few more definitions.

Somewhere in the distance, a door slammed. Annabeth tried to push the clunks of background noise out of her head, digging a hand into her hair and turning her head sideways as she mouthed the words on her flashcard. Percy wandered into her room a moment later, barefoot and eating a piece of bread.

"Hey babe, I said that I was home and you didn't answer. I figured you were dead," he said, his voice muffled.

Annabeth nodded absently. "That's nice, babe."

There was a huff behind her, and Annabeth heard the creak of bedsprings. She didn't turn from her desk, simply shifting her flashcards.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

Annabeth muttered a reply and flipped her flashcard over. There was a moment of silence and rustling that she ignored, and then Percy slammed his hands down on her desk, making her spring backwards away. Huffing hair out of her face, she actually looked up at him for the first time. He was glaring at her.

"Excuse you, I was _studying_." She started gathering the scattered flashcards from her desk again, ordering them back into neat, alphabetical stacks.

Percy sat down on the edge of her chair, pushing her over until they were squished together. He turned, and their noses were almost touching. "Annabeth, you know I love you, and I am not letting you work yourself into the ground again. You need a _break_. Come on, I'm making you a snack."

Annabeth opened her mouth to complain, but Percy lifted a hand and placed it over her lips.

"No. You were studying when I left and that was four hours ago. You literally have not even moved. So if you don't take a break now, I swear that the day of the exam I will turn off your alarm and call you in sick."

She looked at him, horrified. "You're a psychopath."

"And you're working yourself to _death_ , take a break and let me make you a grilled cheese."

Annabeth pursed her lips and tried to stare him down, but he was unrelenting, and finally she sighed and gave in. "Fine, fine. You can make me a grilled cheese. Can I at least—"

"Nope, you cannot. You are coming with me to the kitchen."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the chair, and Annabeth stumbled. He leg was almost completely asleep. She hissed through her teeth and hopped a few times until the feeling started to come back into her calves.

" _Now_ you see why I needed you to take a break," said Percy pointedly.

She rolled her eyes.

Percy didn't let go of her hand until they were in the kitchen and he let her go to grab a frying pan. She pushed herself up onto the counter and watched him work, cutting slices of cheese and melting butter in the pan. Only when the smell of browning butter reached her nostrils did she realize how hungry she actually was.

Percy shooed her into a chair, and plopped the slightly charred grilled cheese in front of her. After grabbing her a glass of cold milk from the fridge, he sat down across the table and watched her devour her sandwich. Once she was done eating and licking her fingers, he got up rather abruptly.

"We're going for a walk!" he announced, and Annabeth paused in licking her fingers to stare up at him in disbelief.

"Say that again?"

He tugged on the edge of her sleeve, and she realized that she was still wearing her pyjamas shirt. "Come on, Annabeth. You've been sitting around all day, you need to stretch your legs. Like, avoid blood clots or something."

She squinted at him, suspicious. "Since when are you interested in _walking?_ "

"Since it concerned the health of my beautiful girlfriend who I love very dearly?" He batted his long eyelashes, and she pressed her lips together for a moment before sighing in defeat. She could never resist those eyelashes

"Fine, you can take me for a _short_ walk, and then I still have to memorize letters S through Z before bed so that I can go over everything again tomorrow."

Percy rolled his eyes. "You do realize that today is Saturday, right?"

"What's your point?"

"That you should be relaxing and not killing yourself by studying for six hours straight."

She groaned. "I already agreed to go on your stupid walk, can't you just leave my study habits alone? I like to _pass_ my exams, thank you very much."

He grinned, and his eyes twinkled in a way that made her own smile hard to contain. "It's true, you did agree to my stupid walk. So get your coat on."

Annabeth changed quickly into a fuzzy sweater and leggings, went to the bathroom, and rushed back into their entranceway all within a few minutes. She pulled her coat on as Percy watched her from his perch on their little shoe bench, his hands in the pocket of his own jacket. When she was finally ready and pulling her gloves on, he stood up and took her hand.

They raced down the stairs three at a time, because the elevator was still out of order. It was already dark when they reached the door, and Annabeth blinked in the city lights, realizing that she hadn't actually seen real sunlight all day. But the streetlamps and the lights from billboards and storefronts and windows were almost as good as daylight, and Percy took her hand and started walking. She was just starting to think that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all when Percy stopped walking altogether and dropped her hand.

She frowned. "Percy, this is your car."

"I know that."

"I thought that we were going on a walk."

"We are." Percy opened the passenger with a smirk, and gestured for her to get in. "Just not here."

Annabeth scowled at him, crossing her arms. "I'm not getting in, I have an exam on Monday and I refuse to lose marks because you wanted to go for a _walk_."

"Oh for—" Percy rolled his eyes, and shoved her lightly in the back, making her squeak and hop forwards. "I will make you miss this exam _on purpose_ if you don't come with me, I swear I will. Just get in the car."

She pouted at him, but he didn't budge, so with a frustrated grunt she stepped forwards and flopped into the car seat, slumping down so that only her forehead was visible over the windshield. She heard Percy get into the driver's side, and he chuckled at her hunched position. She glared at him some more, which only made him laugh harder, which only made her glare more. A vicious cycle.

Annabeth didn't have it in her to pout for more than a couple minutes once the car had started, and she straightened in her seat to watch the city go by. She hadn't been out like this in a while, on an adventure where the destination was unknown. Or at least unknown to her—Percy seemed to know exactly where he was going.

They rode in comfortable silence, Annabeth with her feet curled up and her head on the window, and Percy humming softly as he drove. Eventually they turned a corner and Annabeth sat up straighter.

She recognized where they were now. It was their old neighbourhood—if she walked a few blocks that way she would find their elementary school. Or if she walked a few blocks the other way she would end up at the high school. She kind of missed it there, sometimes. She recognized the storefronts and the apartments and the trees, and it stirred something in her abdomen.

"What are we doing here?" she realized that she had her palms pressed up against the window and quickly took them down, trying to take everything in. They came here every so often for family dinners, but it had been a while now, and they didn't usually come this way.

She could hear the smile in Percy's voice when he spoke, and it made something like excitement flutter in her stomach. "I thought that you deserved a touch a familiarity to cheer you up. You've been working super hard."

Impulsively, she leaned over to kiss him gently on the cheek. "Have I ever told you that you're actually very smart?"

"I can't tell if that's a compliment or not."

She swatted his arm, laughing as he pulled over to the side of the road to park. "Of course it is, idiot. What else would it be?"

He grinned, putting the car in park, and then he was out of his door and all the way around to her side before she even had time to react. He opened her door for her and held it like that, obviously pleased with himself. Annabeth stepped carefully out of car, titling her head and raising her eyebrows at him in mystification.

"Such a gentleman! Where is this all coming from?"

Percy took her hand, and she couldn't help feeling like a Victorian character stepping out of her carriage. For a moment she wished that her gloves were long and white instead of faded yellow and covered in fuzz.

"Please, I'm always a gentleman," Percy said, offering his arm for her to take as they walked along. She laughed, taking it. Here, she could almost forget the midterm that loomed ahead of her.

"Just yesterday you nearly shoved me off the balcony because I told you I hadn't seen _The Lion King_."

"And I would do just as much now, I'm very offended that you brought that up in the middle of our romantic walk. Remind me later that that's the first thing on our to-do list after midterms are over."

"What, shove me off the balcony? And ah, so this is a romantic walk, huh? I thought it was just to force me to actually use my legs today."

"Yes well." Percy ducked his head, and Annabeth realized with a start that he was nervous. "Maybe it's a little bit of both."

He _was_ nervous. Why on earth was he nervous?

She grew tired of linking arms after a while and took his hand instead, and they swung their intertwined hands between them as they talked, chatting about things that had happened to them in the past little while. Annabeth was laughing as Percy told an animated story about something that had happened at his job at the aquarium with one of the dolphins when he suddenly cut off, halting suddenly. She nearly walked into him and stumbled backwards, dropping his hand and scowling.

"What was that for?"

But Percy was kneeling down on the ground, and when Annabeth looked down to see what he had found, she nearly laughed out loud.

"Look, Annabeth, this is still here!"

He was gesturing eagerly to the tiny bubble gum machine on the sidewalk, the tiny one that accepted 25 cent coins for tiny gumballs or plastic toys. Annabeth found herself wondering what happened to the little plastic ring Percy had once given her. She had kept it tucked away in her old jewellery box for years, but it had disappeared in years past. Maybe it was still sitting in that little box, somewhere in the back of her closet.

"The gumball machine," she said, leaning down next to him. "I had forgotten about this. Do you think it still works?"

"We're about to find out!" Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter, then slipped it into the machine. He turned the lever once, twice, and a small gumball fell out, blue and tasteless. He handed it to Annabeth, who popped it in her mouth, though it was really nothing more than a ball of tasteless sugar.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asked as he placed another quarter into the machine. He cranked it around a few more times, grinning at her without answering. When another gumball bounced down, red this time, he popped it into his own mouth and pulled out another quarter. Annabeth watched in fascination.

The third time, he seemed to get what he wanted. A tiny ball of plastic sat in his hand, and he grinned down at it for a moment before he held it out towards Annabeth. She glanced at it, and then back up at his face, confused.

He held up a finger, the smile never leaving his face as he pinched the sides of the little plastic ball until it opened. The halves rolled around in his hand, and in the middle, a tiny ring made of brittle plastic.

Finally, he spoke, and his voice was so low that Annabeth had to lean in to hear it. "Do you remember the promise you made the last time I found one of these for you?"

Annabeth looked back over time, wading through years' worth of memories until she settled on the day by the gumball machine, tiny Percy on the verge of tears, a plastic ring and a promise. Something clicked into place.

She looked up at him, eyes widening. "Percy you're not…?"

When he took her hand, his eyes were soft. "Fourteen years ago, you made me a promise, Annabeth. And—among a lot of promises that were made that day that were—were broken, there's one that I think we should keep."

She put a hand over her mouth, exhaling shakily. This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening.

"You promised me that you would marry me one day, Annabeth, and that's a promise I intend to make you keep—or ask you to keep—I mean, I guess what I'm saying is—"

"Yes."

"What?"

Annabeth surged forwards, grabbing his face in between her hands and mashing their lips together. He tasted of gumballs. She could feel tears on her face, real, _actual_ tears, and she pulled away and laughed and ran her thumbs down Percy's cheek. " _Yes."_

"You didn't let me finish," he protested, but he was laughing, too, and she wanted to kiss him again.

"I didn't need to. I knew what you were going to say."

He held up the little ring, brittle green and clear plastic, and she slipped her yellow glove off and held out her hand. It barely fit onto her pinky finger, and she laughed again as she held it up. "I may have to put it on a chain."

"You do know that's not the actual ring, right?"

She could feel her eyes widen almost comically, but she was beyond the point of caring. "There's _another_ one?"

He snorted. "You thought I was cheap enough to propose with a 25 cent ring and you were going to say yes?"

"I would have said yes if you proposed with a carrot."

"Well, if I had known _that_ maybe I wouldn't have—"

"Just shut up and give me the ring."

Smirking obediently, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He looked directly into her eyes as he opened it.

She inhaled sharply, reaching a trembling hand out to touch it. It was simple, but beautiful with a silver band a small blue gem—probably a sapphire—imbedded in the middle. It was perfect, because it was so, so Percy.

She held out her hand, the tiny plastic ring still hanging around her pinky, and he slipped it onto her ring finger. She held it up so it glinted under the streetlamp.

"We're getting _married_ ," she said wonderingly.

Percy was looking at her like he'd never seen anything more perfect, like she was all that mattered in the world. "I've known that for fourteen years."

"And you never doubted it for a second?"

"Well… maybe one or two seconds."

She giggled and twisted her arms around her neck to kiss him again. "I can't believe that this is what you dragged me away from my study session for."

"And was it worth it?"

She leaned in and whispered it like a secret, smiling against his lips. "Totally worth it."

She kissed him there, on the dirty gravel, in front of a tiny gumball machine and some closed storefronts, in the middle of an irrelevant street that somehow meant the world.

As she kissed him, she wondered if there had ever really been any doubt that they would end up here, now, after all the years of friendship and fights, breakups and makeups and everything in between them. This was where they were meant to end up, and this was how they were meant to end up.

 _Together_.

* * *

 **A/N: *wipes tear* and here we are, at the real actual end. This is actually such a weird moment you don't understand this story is my baby and I've been working on it forever and it's just _done_ now holy shit. **

**Okay so I really have to start by giving out a huge thanks to anyone who was every involved in helping me writing this, from giving me inspiration to reading obnoxiously over my shoulder. Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, especially those of you who review EVERY CHAPTER just like know that doesn't go unnoticed okay, even if I've never sent you an actual thank you PM just know that I love all you consistent reviewers and i probably meant to thank you and forgot SO MUCH LOVE. AlsO thanks to my writing baes Rachel the best beta ever and Mia the loveably enthusiastic I love you both so much. Also thanks to Bronwyn and Daphne for reading and giving me feedback and Reena for checking in to see how the story was going I literally love all you guys so much mwah.**

 **So in regards to future stories: honestly, no idea what I'm doing yet. It may not even be PJO/Percabeth? So idk what's going to go down. Here is my idea though: if you have any suggestions for stories that you would like to see me write, PM ME! Or like, leave it in a review, either or. No promises, but if you have a killer suggestion that you think might grab my attention do let me know. I may also write some oneshots in the near-ish future so keep an eye open for those!**

 **So this** **mightily long AN must come to an end eventually, so I am going to finish off by saying thanks all and leave me a review for old times sake? Love you all.**

 **(I'm a very sentimental person, oKAY?)**

 **GGW**


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